Paris - Arabstoday
Following a spate of withdrawals and injury setbacks, Goal.com assesses the options available to Laurent Blanc ahead of Les Bleus\' crunch matches later this weekFrance enter their final Euro 2012 qualifying games with a crippling, and still lengthening, injury list ahead of crunch encounters against Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Injuries to key players before high-profile matches is enough to derail any side, with Laurent Blanc slightly alarmed to see 10 players on the sidelines for the international double-header.\'Le President\' has been dealt significant blows with the news that Bacary Sagna will miss three months following his leg break. Further setbacks were to follow with the revelations that Karim Benzema, Franck Ribery and Blaise Matuidi all left the Clairefontaine training camp after fitness tests.Luck never seems to favour the Gallic nation, and with difficult games on their horizon, these unfortunate injuries have come at the worst possible time, especially when les Bleus face a potentially group-deciding game against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Paris next Tuesday.With virtually an entire outfield side in the treatment room, Goal.com assesses the contingency plans available to France.The right-back position has undoubtedly become a talking point following Sagna\'s leg break in the north London derby on Sunday afternoon. Two contenders, Mathieu Debuchy and Anthony Reveillere, are vying to fill in for Sagna, handing Laurent Blanc a selection headache.In the case of the Reveillere, the Lyon full-back has deputised for Sagna in much of the qualifying campaign, whilst also featuring in each of les Bleus last three games. Industrial as he is, many would favour the 31-year-old for a starting spot on Friday. Also gunning for a place is Lille\'s Debuchy, whose lack of international experience could prove to be a stumbling block. The Lille defender has, however, enjoyed an electric start to the season with his attacking displays adding to his competence in defence. Four appearances in the Ligue 1 Team of The Week - more than any other player - may swing the selection in Debuchy\'s favour. With Barcelona\'s insistence that Eric Abidal must not feature in France\'s internationals this week, another problematic spot has arisen in the heart of defence, which is already without Philippe Mexes, who has been such a rock in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. Should Laurent Blanc adhere to the Spanish champions\' request, it leaves a shortage of centre-backs. In the frame for a starting position alongside Adil Rami are Tottenham\'s Younes Kaboul and Arsenal\'s Laurent Koscielny.Kaboul has marginally more experience at international level having featured in Les Bleus 2-1 win over Albania last month. Appearances in the national team, however, have been largely unconvincing, with Kaboul producing an error which allowed Erjon Bogdani to strike in the aforementioned encounter. Laurent Koscielny is in with a shout to make his international debut against the Albanians this Friday, but the Arsenal man is also weighed down by the catalogue of errors which seems to be continually haunting the 26-year-old this season. This position may well be France\'s Achilles heel in these crunch games. Nevertheless, both are capable of confident defensive displays on their dayFollowing Franck Ribery\'s withdrawal from the national team on Monday, a window of opportunity has arisen on the right side of midfield. Blanc has the luxury of various players competing for a starting place in this position.Samir Nasri has arguably the most international experience compared to the other pretenders, Mathieu Valbuena and Jeremy Menez. While Nasri is normally deployed as a central attacking midfielder, his versatility could enable him to switch to the flanks, which could be even more likely after he was upstaged by newcomer Marvin Martin in the playmaker role.Both Valbuena and Menez have enjoyed bright starts to their Ligue 1 season, with the Marseille winger providing six assists and Menez three. Much of Valbuena\'s plaudits have derived from his ability to link up well with team-mate Loic Remy. And should Remy feature, Blanc may give \'Le Petit Velo\' his 10th cap.Finally, the lack of a clinical striker may hinder France\'s goalscoring potential in their final two qualifiers. Karim Benzema has been prolific for les Bleus over the past year, and his absence is sure to hurt the side in more ways than one.The other men vying for a place to spearhead the attack on Friday have much to do to convince Blanc of their value to the national team. Kevin Gameiro, who is usually second choice to Benzema, is definitely ruled out of the first game but could well face Bosnia-Herzegovina.Djibril Cisse has been rejuvenated following his move to Lazio. However, the lack of recent international action - he has not played for France since the 2010 World Cup - may work against the 30-year-old. Bafetimbi Gomis, another contender, has the quality on his day, but, as was highlighted in Lyon\'s last two games, the dreadlocked striker could easily be a liability. Loic Remy is in line to lead the attack instead, having featured in Les Bleus\' last three games, while scoring against Chile in August.France\'s catalogue of injury concerns will surely put extra pressure on Blanc\'s depleted side. With France only one point ahead of nearest challengers Bosnia-Herzegovina, and facing them in a group decider in Paris next week, Les Bleus can still book a smooth passage to Euro 2012.