France head coach Didier Deschamps has played down concerns that Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate suffered an injury in Thursday's UEFA Nations League loss to Croatia.
Les Bleus are on the brink of elimination from the quarter-finals of the competition following a 2-0 first-leg defeat, as Ante Budimir and Ivan Perisic struck in the first half at Stadion Poljud.
Konate and Arsenal's William Saliba were given the nod in central defence, but both endured difficult outings, and the former gave away a penalty within the opening 10 minutes for an inexplicable handball.
Mike Maignan bailed out his defender by stopping Andrej Kramaric's weak attempt, but Konate was then withdrawn at half time for Dayot Upamecano, in a change that the France X account stated was enforced.
On announcing the alteration, Les Bleus' official page stated that Konate had suffered an injury in the first half, but Deschamps has now claimed that the 25-year-old's change was purely tactical.
Deschamps disagrees with France X account over Konate substitution
"I know it's tough, but I saw him struggling, not at his best, so I preferred to substitute him," Deschamps told the media when asked about Konate's apparent injury at full time.
While Konate therefore seems to have avoided picking up a knock, the ex-RB Leipzig man is at risk of losing his place in defence for the second leg of France and Croatia's quarter-final on Sunday.
Konate has been a fundamental player for Liverpool boss Arne Slot in the 2024-25 season, providing two goals and two assists from 34 appearances as Virgil van Dijk's first-choice defensive partner.
Injuries have not been kind to Konate since his arrival in 2021, and he has already missed eight matches with a knee injury this season, but there should be no concern over his availability for the Merseyside derby at home to Everton on April 2.
How are Alisson Becker, Ryan Gravenberch?
When France initially reported that Konate left the Poljud pitch due to a knock, the 25-year-old represented one of three new injury concerns for Slot, who has also suffered scares over Alisson Becker and Ryan Gravenberch.
Alisson was involved in a nasty clash of heads with ex-Tottenham Hotspur defender Davinson Sanchez in Brazil's 2-1 World Cup 2026 Qualifying win over Colombia, and the goalkeeper was taken off with a suspected concussion.
However, Brazil's team doctor has since reassured Liverpool fans that Alisson appeared normal and did not seem to have any lasting damage after the incident, meaning that he will likely be fine to face Everton once he has completed the necessary 10-day protocol period.
Gravenberch, meanwhile, had to pull out of the Netherlands squad due to an injury he sustained in last weekend's EFL Cup final loss to Newcastle United, and Liverpool are still waiting to learn the extent of the damage.
Tyler Morton (shoulder), Trent Alexander-Arnold (knee), Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley (both hamstring) are currently out of contention for Liverpool, who are 12 points clear of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table. body check tags ::
