Fabrice Hawkins is reporting that Raphaël Varane (29) and Ibrahima Konaté (23) are the latest to catch the illness that has been sweeping through the France camp.
Adrien Rabiot (27) and Dayot Upamecano (24) were both ruled out of Les Bleus’ semi-final victory over Morocco. Konaté, Upamecano’s replacement for that fixture has now fallen ill, as has his centre-back partner Varane. Kingsley Coman (26), however, is feeling better after having been isolated from his teammates after catching the illness.
How the flu-like illness infiltrated the group has not yet been ascertained. L’Équipe have cited air-conditioning as the source, but beIN Sports believe that the flu was caught from the England players during the quarter-final tie last weekend. In the France camp, measures are being taken to contain the spread of the illness, as reported by L’Équipe. Hand gel is now in the corridors and on tables, staff at Les Bleus’ hotel are now obliged to wear masks and the cleaning of surfaces has been stepped up.
Hawkins has said that Varane’s and Konaté’s situations aren’t “alarming” but added that staff are going to monitor their health closely. Didier Deschamps’ men face Argentina in the World Cup final on Sunday.
L’Équipe have added that Konaté’s symptoms are more “pronounced” than Varane’s. The latter is only suffering from mild symptoms.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
