Ribery to miss World Cup playoffs
Franck Ribery will miss France's World Cup playoff against Ireland with a knee injury
Thursday, 22, Oct 2009 12:12
By inthenews.co.uk staff.
France winger Franck Ribery will miss both legs of the World Cup playoffs against Republic of Ireland next month because of a knee injury.
The Bayern Munich star is being forced to rest for the next four weeks in order to allow the persistent problem to heal.
The 26-year-old playmaker, who is one of the biggest threats to Ireland's hopes of qualifying for the World Cup finals in South Africa next summer, has been told by Bayern's medical staff to stay off the playing field until late November.
This means he will be unavailable to French coach Raymond Domenech for the two-legged tie against the Irish on November 14th and 18th.
"We have made the decision that we want to allow him time for the injury to heal properly," said Munich head coach Louis van Gaal.
Ribery has been struggling with the knee injury since the summer and endured a truncated pre-season as a result.
The problem flared up again during a goalless draw with Cologne in the Bundesliga earlier this month and he has been sidelined ever since.