Paris (AFP)

The Blues meet on Monday for the last sprint of an overcrowded end of the year, but some like Kylian Mbappé will first go through the infirmary to see if their condition is compatible with three international matches in a week, a worrying rate for all the great selections.

Didier Deschamps and the medical staff of Clairefontaine, not varnished since the start of the season between the Covid-19 and the injuries, will first examine the condition of the injured Mbappé, Benjamin Pavard, Presnel Kimpembe and Houssem Aouar, before turning towards sporting issues: Finland on Wednesday in friendly, then Portugal and Sweden in the League of Nations.

Sunday against Saint-Etienne, Aouar (summoned after Nabil Fekir's package) went out with an injury, limping, before treating his painful thigh with an ice pack.

"I hope it's not too serious and that he can go with the France team," said OL coach Rudi Garcia, unable to measure the "seriousness" of the injury.

With Paris SG, Kimpembe also received a "serious blow" to the right foot last Wednesday in the Champions League in Leipzig (2-1), according to his coach Thomas Tuchel.

The central defender "will resume training with the France team in the coming days depending on the development of the contusion," his club said.

His partners at the 2018 Mondial Pavard and Mbappé both suffer from a muscle discomfort in a thigh which deprived them of competition this weekend.

The Parisian striker "will continue his individual care and training with the France team, in close collaboration with the PSG medical staff," said the capital club.

- Ronaldo also affected -

The two players, already disturbed this summer by physical concerns, probably pay the accumulation of matches this overloaded fall, which forces Deschamps to a balancing act.

The coach has already warned that Mbappé would ignore Finland on Wednesday, preferring to preserve his jewel of attack for the clash of the League of Nations group in Lisbon on Saturday against Portugal.

"If I put him in the list, it is because there is a very high probability that he will be available for our matches. Not for Wednesday's but for Saturday's," he explained Thursday in revealing his list.

The former coach of Juventus and Marseille is not the only one to have to deal with injuries in the selection.

His Portuguese counterpart Fernando Santos must do without the services of veteran defender Pepe, injured in a foot, and he will have to scrutinize the condition of Cristiano Ronaldo's right ankle, affected on Sunday at the club.

- Favorites undermined by injuries -

Seven months before the Euro, other favorites are undermined by even more serious injuries to major players, unavailable for several long weeks.

Germany lost the talented midfielder Joshua Kimmich (meniscus operation), the Netherlands will have to make do without their defensive rock Virgil Van Dijk (right knee ligaments) and Spain is orphaned by its great hope. Ansu Fati (meniscus).

Faced with gray areas concerning his selection, Deschamps has chosen to expand his list to 26 players, against 23 usually, to anticipate any withdrawal.

This leaves him a little leeway to keep a competitive group in the event of a hard blow.

He could also, if one of the injured players throws in the towel, turn to the Espoirs.

Sylvain Ripoll's team has the advantage of also being at Clairefontaine to prepare for its decisive deadlines for qualifying for Euro-2021.

Will Deschamps dig into the list of his Breton counterpart, after having already deprived him of Aouar?

The hypothesis is not to be excluded, the two coaches having repeated many times that the France A team was a priority.

© 2020 AFP