Lyon reveal request for France to rest players as Griedge Mbock suffers serious injury
By Ali Rampling
Lyon defender Griedge Mbock is set to be sidelined for a minimum of six months after dislocating her right knee while on international duty with France.
The club have revealed that they had asked the French Football Federation to rest their players during the recent international window due to the congested fixture calendar.
Mbock - capped 71 times by her country and an integral part of France's run to the Euro 2022 semi finals - suffered the injury in the latter stages of the first half of Les Blues' 5-1 World Cup qualifying victory over Greece on Tuesday evening.
The centre-back is currently hospitalised at the Jean Mermoz hospital in Lyon, and will undergo surgery on Tuesday 13 September.
France's automatic qualification for the 2023 World Cup had already been confirmed prior to September's international break, having comfortably topped Group I ahead of Wales, Slovenia, Greece, Estonia and Kazakhstan.
Mbock featured in one of France's two fixtures during the break, and was an unused substitute during their 9-0 victory over Estonia.
A statement released on Lyon's official club website read: "Olympique Lyonnais wishes to give its full support to Griedge Mbock in this difficult period and wishes to specify that it had expressly asked the French Football Federation to spare its players for these two meetings without [anything at] stake, given the busy schedule and the numerous matches played this season in the various national and international competitions. For example, Griedge Mbock has played 40 official matches since September 2021."
The French domestic season kicks off just five days after the conclusion of the September international break. Many players who represented their country at Euro 2022 have had just two weeks off before returning to pre-season. Players will likely have little time off next summer too due to the World Cup.
Lyon begin their Division 1 Feminine title defence on Sunday with a trip to Stade de Reims, and have three league fixtures over the course of September, with a minimum of six days separating each fixture.