Zidane sends Tchouaméni home without a replacement and takes five midfielders to San Siro

France will go to San Siro on Thursday with five midfielders and no Aurélien Tchouaméni. The Real Madrid midfielder was sent back to his club on Tuesday night with the same right adductor problem that hit him at the World Cup, and Zinedine Zidane chose not to call anyone in to replace him, even though a win in Milan would clinch first place in Nations League A Group 1.

Tchouaméni is the third player to leave Zidane's November squad. Pierre Kalulu went first and was replaced by Wolfsburg's Saël Kumbedi, then Marcus Thuram withdrew and Bournemouth's Eli Junior Kroupi came in. This time the France staff stopped there.

"Aurélien Tchouameni is again suffering from his right adductor, as he did last summer at the World Cup," the team said in a statement reported by franceinfo. "He has felt this discomfort since arriving at Clairefontaine. Given his medical history, and after speaking a few minutes ago with Real Madrid's doctors, the France medical staff, in agreement with the player, decided to return him to his club." He spent one more night with the group and was due to fly to Madrid on Wednesday. No timeline was given for his return.

The 26-year-old, who has 50 caps and three goals, only got back on the field in mid-September after the World Cup injury and was not in Zidane's first squad. He had worked his way back with Real Madrid, which is why this camp was supposed to be his first under the new coach.

According to the federation's list, the midfielders still in camp are Eduardo Camavinga, Rayan Cherki, Lucas Da Cunha, Adrien Rabiot and Warren Zaïre-Emery. Manu Koné, who only returned for Roma on Saturday after three weeks out with a thigh problem, is not part of this group.

That is a short list for a game of this size. Cherki is more of a creator than a holding player, and Zaïre-Emery has just come back from injury, with his best positon still a point of debate between Zidane and PSG coach Luis Enrique, as Goal noted. Rabiot and Camavinga look like the natural pair to carry the defensive work, with Da Cunha the only other specialist on the bench.

France are also without William Saliba and Ousmane Dembélé, so the decision not to add a sixth midfielder says a lot about how much Zidane trusts the players he already has.

France lead the group with 10 points from four games, three ahead of Italy, with Belgium on six and Türkiye on zero. According to UEFA, a win at San Siro makes France group winners and quarterfinalists, and even a draw is enough to go through. Italy can clinch a quarterfinal place only by beating France while Belgium lose in Türkiye earlier on Thursday.

The reverse fixture in October finished 1-1, with Alessandro Bastoni answering Michael Olise, and Italy are the only side to take points off Zidane's France. Goal points out that Italy have scored in each of their last nine meetings with France. Roberto Mancini also has Pio Esposito in form, with seven goals in his first 13 senior appearances for Italy.

Kickoff in Milan is at 2:45 p.m. ET on Thursday, and France host Türkiye in Bordeaux on Sunday. If the midfield holds up without Tchouaméni, Zidane can wrap up the group with a game to spare. If it doesn't, the short list he chose to keep will be the first thing people point to.