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Expert: Lucas Digne could be 'sent home' after Aston Villa latest
Aston Villa left-back Lucas Digne could be “sent home” from international duty if France suspect he is at further risk of injury.
That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
Digne, 28, missed the 1-0 loss at home to Arsenal last Saturday (19 March) with a hamstring setback.
But the 43-cap defender has been called up by Didier Deschamps for France’s upcoming friendlies against the Ivory Coast and South Africa.
Per Birmingham Live last Friday (18 March), Steven Gerrard revealed: “He’s a doubt for [France’s] first game and an outside chance for their second.”
But the French camp will not hesitate to send Digne back to Merseyside if there are any early signs of his condition worsening.
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“It’s a friendly game, which is important to remember,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“We see a massive drop-off in terms of availability between competitive and non-competitive games.
“When you look at the context, we had the Euros last summer and a heavily disrupted pre-season. Coaches will make decisions with those factors in mind.
“If there are any doubts, Lucas Digne will not be risked unnecessarily. Villa have got some big games still to come, so it’s always a worry.
“The best you can hope for is for those players to come back unscathed but maybe with some minutes in their legs.
“But if there are any worries, I can see Lucas Digne being sent home back by Didier Deschamps. It doesn’t make any sense to take chances.”
Digne joined Villa from Everton in a £25million move in January.
He has supplied one assist in eight appearances for his new club.
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