BREAKING: Hugo Lloris withdraws from France squad with thigh injury

Breaking news out of France this morning — according to L’Equipe and other French outlets, Tottenham Hotspur keeper Hugo Lloris has been withdrawn from the France national team for the upcoming international break. Lloris apparently picked up a thigh injury during Spurs’ 6-2 win over Leicester on Saturday.

Alban Lafont was called up to replace Hugo, France’s captain and starting keeper, for the upcoming Nations League matches against Austria and Denmark next week.

I’d like to think this is “internationalitis” and that it’s just Spurs making sure Hugo gets a good rest over the international break, since lord knows he’s not going to get much of one before the World Cup. But it’s Hugo, and it’s France, so it’s probably not that. Say what you want about Hugo, but he LOVES playing for France and takes his captaincy very seriously. If he’s being withdrawn from the squad due to injury, it’s probably because he’s injured.

There isn’t much out there yet about how injured Hugo actually is. It could be a small strain, or it could be that his leg fell off and will require a bionic replacement, we just don’t know yet. It does raise a frightening possibility that we could potentially see starting Tottenham Hotspur keeper Fraser Forster in goal at the Emirates in a North London Derby on October 1. That’s a little bit terrifying, especially since he’s an unknown quantity, and there’s nothing worse than an unknown quantity in such an important position ahead of an away NLD. There’s also the possibility that the NLD could get postponed for the rail strike, and if Hugo really is seriously injured, I’m gonna hope the strike actually happens and the match is rescheduled.

So light some candles and start a prayer circle for Hugo — direct all the positive energy you can towards North London.