France star Delphine Cascarino will miss the upcoming Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand after her club Lyon announced on Thursday that she would be out of action "for several months" with a knee injury.
The 26-year-old winger came off in tears in her club's 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain last weekend that saw them clinch the French title.
Lyon said that tests revealed a "partial rupture of the right anterior cruciate ligament" and confirmed she would require surgery.
The news is a major blow to fifth-ranked France's hopes of making an impact at the World Cup under new coach Herve Renard.
They are already set to be without striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto as she recovers from a long-term injury.
Cascarino is the latest in a long line of top female players to suffer such a serious knee injury.
Key United States midfielder Catarino Macario, also of Lyon, was ruled out of the World Cup earlier this week with a similar problem.
England captain Leah Williamson also recently saw her hopes of featuring at the tournament ended by a knee injury.
Spain's Alexia Putellas, the reigning women's Ballon d'Or, has spent the last nine months out with a knee injury of her own, but is hoping to be fit in time to travel to the World Cup.
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