Newcastle United goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen has withdrawn from France Under-21 duty after suffering an injury in training on Thursday.
The French Football Federation confirmed his withdrawal, describing the problem as a thigh injury. Coach Gérald Baticle has called up Toulouse goalkeeper Mathys Niflore, who is due to join the squad at Clairefontaine on Friday.
Le Parisien reported that Jaouen had injured his right hamstring. The newspaper said examinations were planned for Thursday evening to establish the extent of the problem.
Ewen Jaouen return date remains unconfirmed
Jaouen will miss France’s matches against Luxembourg on Saturday, 3 October and Switzerland on Tuesday, 6 October. Both fixtures take place in Orléans.
The setback follows a productive start to the international window. He started the 1-1 draw with Iceland before playing the full 90 minutes and keeping a clean sheet in Tuesday’s 2-0 victory over Estonia.
Newcastle teammate Aladji Bamba supplied an assist in that Estonia win, giving the club two players involved in the result.
The federation’s announcement did not provide a recovery timetable. It therefore does not establish whether Jaouen will be available when Newcastle return to Premier League action.
Their next match is away to Coventry on Monday, 12 October, with kick-off at 8pm BST.
