Lyon Striker Sidney Govou Called To France Squad To Replace Liverpool's Djibril Cisse
Lyon forward Sidney Govou has been called up as a replacement for injured Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse in France's World Cup squad.
Cisse was ruled out of the tournament after breaking his leg in Les Bleus' World Cup warm-up match against China on Wednesday night.
Les Bleus coach Raymond Domenech confirmed after the match that 24-year-old Cisse had been rushed to hospital to undergo surgery and would not take part in Germany 2006.
26-year-old Govou, who plays for French champions Olympique Lyon, will fly to Germany with the rest of the France squad on Thursday.
Govou was surprisingly called-up ahead of both Fenerbahce's Nicolas Anelka and Barcelona's Ludovic Giuly, one of whom was expected to get the nod, despite criticising Domenech following their original omission.
Govou, who has won 19 caps for France, and scored three goals, with his last national-team appearance coming on November 9, 2005 against Costa Rica.
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