France lose Debuchy for finals

LOSC Lille Métropole midfielder Mathieu Debuchy will not play at this summer's UEFA European Under-21 Championship as he faces six months out with a cruciate ligament injury.

Cruciate injury
The 20-year-old sustained the injury last weekend in a collision with RC Strasbourg's Abou Moslem Farag during Lille's 2-2 draw. "Mathieu will be undergo surgery on 12 April," said a club statement today. "He won't be back before next September."

Champions League chase
The news will come as a blow to both club and country with Lille still in the race for a UEFA Champions League berth with six games of the season left and in the last eight of the French Cup. The France coach René Girard saw Toulouse FC defender Daniel Congré ruled out of the tournament last month.