France may be forced to start their defence of the World Cup on Friday without Zinedine Zidane after their inspirational playmaker tore a thigh muscle in the 3-2 victory over South Korea in Suwon yesterday.
Preliminary tests revealed a small tear in his left thigh and the French were sufficiently concerned to arrange a specialist's examination in Seoul today for a full diagnosis which will determine whether the world's most expensive player can appear against Senegal in the tournament opener in the South Korean capital.
France's team doctor Jean-Marcel Ferret confirmed that Zidane had suffered "a small tear of the median third of the quadriceps".
The coach Roger Lemerre admitted his concern: "Zidane has a little pain in his thigh muscle. When it's muscular you are always worried because you never know how long it is going to take to heal."
Even if Zidane is ruled out of only two days' training, Lemerre may not risk him on Friday, instead saving him for France's second Group A game, against Uruguay on June 6.
Zidane was reaching peak form when he volleyed Real Madrid's winner in the European Cup final at Hampden Park but since then the £48m player has been short of match play, coming off after 39 minutes yesterday. He missed France's shock 2-1 defeat by Belgium in Paris the previous weekend because of the birth of his third son.
Zidane asked to be replaced yesterday five minutes after a challenge from a Korean caused him to hop on his right leg in pain. He watched the rest of the game with an ice-pack on his injured thigh.
Given France's faltering pre-finals form - they were also held by Russia to a 0-0 draw in Paris - Zidane's absence on Friday would be a significant loss. Yesterday the world and European champions were unconvincing against the co-hosts, trailing 2-1 at half-time and claiming victory with an 89th-minute half-volley, a rare international goal from the former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf. David Trezeguet had opened the scoring after 15 minutes and Christophe Dugarry had made it 2-2 in the 53rd.
Lemerre admitted: "We had to fight hard to cope with the skills, with the physical challenge posed by the Koreans and with their strong will."
