The lead-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup had been a torrid one for reigning champions France as they kept losing one player after another to injuries.

Indeed, Les Bleus named their initial 26-man squad without key players like N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba. And soon after they were forced to see the backs of Presnel Kimpembe, Christopher Nkunku and Karim Benzema as well.

And in their World Cup opener against Australia last night, France were struck down with yet another injury as defender Lucas Hernandez suffered from an ACL tear that has ruled him out of the tournament and the remainder of the 2022/23 season.

A versatile operator, the Bayern Munich ace had been Didier Deschamps’ go-to man for the left-back position, as was the case in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, when Les Bleus went all the way. So, his injury comes as a blow for France.

The world champions have a backup player ready to take over in the form of Lucas’ brother Theo Hernandez. But the French national team do not have any further cover in the left-back position which they might need if they go deep into the tournament.

To that end, according to Le Parisien (h/t Madrid Zone), France are seriously considering deploying Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga as a makeshift left-back should the need arise.

The midfielder, who turned 20 a couple of weeks ago, was called up to the World Cup squad due to the absence of players like Pogba and Kante, in order to provide some depth in the midfield department.

However, Deschamps could now turn to the former Rennes prodigy to act as a cover in the left-back slot following Lucas Hernandez’s injury.

Camavinga, throughout his career, has never played in the left-back slot as per the data collected by Transfermarkt. But it seems like the French national team staff has seen something in the Real Madrid ace to consider utilising him in such a position.

It will certainly be intriguing to see if Deschamps does follow through with that idea in the coming weeks.