The star striker of the French team Marie-Antoinette Katoto, seriously injured in a knee last year, is forfeited for the World Cup this summer, according to relatives of the player and the Blue.
The 24-year-old French player underwent medical examinations on Tuesday morning in Clairefontaine and the medical staff of Les Bleues and PSG considered that she was “not fit” to participate in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand ( July 20-August 20). Already absent in 2019, “MAK” will not be there this year according to sources close to blue and the player who judge “her recovery on the right track but too fair for a big competition”
Victim during the Euro in July 2022 of a rupture of a ligament in the right knee and a crack in the meniscus, Katoto is in the rehabilitation phase. She has resumed running and has been retouching the ball since the end of April.
“Respect the medical aspect”
“We will make sure to respect the medical aspect, the athletic aspect so as not to go against the physical integrity of this player who still has a bright future ahead of her. But if we can have her with us, I I will be the first to be delighted”, explained to AFP the new coach of the Bleues Hervé Renard on May 21. Contacted by AFP, his club Paris Saint-Germain did not wish to comment on the information.
For the Bleues, this package is in addition to that already recorded by Delphine Cascarino, striker for Olympique Lyonnais, also injured in the knee. The recovery times of her teammate Griedge Mbock, central defender, make her presence very uncertain in Australia. On the other hand, optimism is in order for striker Kadidiatou Diani, injured at the end of March with PSG but expected among the globalists. Hervé Renard’s list must be announced on June 6 at 4:00 p.m.