France star Ribery out of World Cup

France's World Cup chances have suffered a severe blow as influential winger Franck Ribery has been ruled out with lower back problems.

Coach Didier Deschamps also said that attacking midfielder Clement Grenierwas out of the finals in Brazil with a groin problem as Les Bleus suffered their third injury since the 23-man squad was unveiled. Second-choice goalkeeperSteve Mandanda also pulled out.

"This morning before the collective training session ... he had to stop, the pain was too strong," Deschamps told a news conference.

"We have made checks in the beginning of the afternoon, checks that confirmed the situation has aggravated and he is today not capable of training for a few weeks, let alone play a game."

Ribery and Grenier will be replaced in the squad by Morgan Schneiderlin andRemy Cabella.

The replacements have to be validated by world governing body FIFA as they are made after the 23-man squad submission deadline, which was on June 2.

"We will hand over those two files and they will take the time they need to reply," said Deschamps.

"They are the first, Franck or Clement, to be very sad. Franck had problems but everything was going in the right direction until his situation suddenly aggravated."

France start their World Cup campaign on June 15 against Honduras in Group E, where they will also meet Ecuador and Switzerland.

Ribery was instrumental in France's qualifying campaign, scoring five goals and creating several chances for his team mates.