Marie-Antoinette Katoto will not play the 2023 World Cup (July 20-August 20). Even if it was rather expected, it is bad news for the Bleues of the new coach Hervé Renard, who will be deprived, in Australia, of the center forward of PSG, formidable scorer with 26 goals in 32 selections.
The one who is one of the stars of the French women's team had exams on Tuesday at the Clairefontaine medical center (Yvelines). The latter were therefore not satisfactory for the medical staff of Les Bleues and PSG, who considered that she was "not suitable", according to Agence France-Presse (AFP), which cites sources close to the player and the France team.
His "recovery is on the right track, but it's too fair for a big competition," Katoto's entourage told AFP.
An offensive line to revamp
Victim of a serious injury during the last Euro 2022 – rupture of a ligament in his right knee and a crack in the meniscus – Katoto had difficulty recovering. Knee injuries are even trickier to manage in female footballers than in male footballers. In the re-athleticization phase since April, she had nevertheless started to run again and touch the ball a little.
Hervé Renard – who already lost another of his attackers last week, Lyonnaise Delphine Cascarino, due to a partial rupture of the knee ligament – will have to find solutions to reorganize his offensive line.
The recovery times for central defender Griedge Mbock also make her presence in Australia highly uncertain. 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.
The list of players selected for the World Cup must be announced on June 6 at 4 p.m. by Hervé Renard.
