Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse has been ruled out of the World Cup after fracturing his right tibia in tonight's friendly against China in St Etienne.
Cisse collapsed in agony after colliding with China captain Zhi
Zheng in the 11th minute of a match France eventually won 3-1.
He lay prone for several minutes before being carried off on a
stretcher with his leg attached to a splint.
Afterwards France coach Raymond Domenech confirmed the 24-year-old
would not take part in Germany.
He said: 'Cisse went straight to the hospital where he is
currently being operated on. He has an open fracture of the tibia.'
Cisse has scored nine goals in 30 games for France but Domenech must
now call up a replacement with Fenerbahce's Nicolas Anelka and
Barcelona's Ludovic Giuly already thought to be in the frame.
Domenech added: 'We don't know the name of his replacement yet, we
want to take our time in order to make the right decision.
'This is a big shock and a huge trauma for the team.'
Cisse missed the majority of the 2004-05 season with a similar
injury to his left leg, sustained in game against Blackburn at Ewood
Park in October 2004.
In that instance he was initially ruled out for the rest of the
season but returned sooner than expected and featured in Liverpool's
Champions League final win over AC Milan last year.
He had joined up with the France squad with doubt surrounding his
Liverpool future, however, with Marseille reportedly pursuing a
deal.
The former Auxerre forward scored in last month's FA Cup final
victory over West Ham but recently criticised manager Rafael Benitez
and had looked likely to leave Anfield after the World Cup.
He was linked with moves to Marseille and Tottenham throughout the
season but insisted during the last transfer window that he wanted to
stay with Liverpool.
The injury overshadowed France's win in their final World Cup
warm-up game, although it was another unconvincing performance from
Domenech's men.
In the end, they were grateful to substitute Franck Ribery, who
sparked a late rally as France netted twice in the closing stages.
First, the Marseille winger's cross from the left was comically
shinned past his own goalkeeper on the volley by China defender Wang
Yun.
Seconds later, Ribery played a neat one-two with Thierry Henry and,
although he was beaten to the return by visiting keeper Li Leilei,
the ball fell nicely for Henry to roll into the empty net from 30
yards.
Earlier, David Trezeguet, Cisse's replacement, put the hosts ahead
only for Zhi to level from the spot.
Zinedine Zidane, making his last appearance in his native France
before retiring after the World Cup, also missed a first-half
penalty.
