FIFA World Cup: French have no concerns over Ribery injury

Brasilia: French playmaker Franck Ribery will be fit to play in the World Cup, French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet said Saturday.

The 31-year-old Bayern Munich star, a veteran of the 2006 final when France lost to Italy on penalties, has been unable to train with the rest of the squad since joining them last week because of back pain. However, Le Graet said that Ribery had been given the all clear after he underwent tests in a hospital in Paris on Saturday and is due to travel to Nice where the French squad is preparing for a friendly with Paraguay on Sunday. "The French team is counting on Ribery," said Le Graet, who was speaking after the annual general meeting of the federation in Paris. "He will resume training very soon. The medical examinations he underwent showed that there is no threat of his missing the World Cup." Ribery, who was also part of the squad that returned in disgrace from the 2010 World Cup exiting in the first round and having gone on strike at one point, had, according to Le Graet, been worried that the problem might be more serious. "He was a little bit anxious because he had felt a sharp pain in the base of the back but there was nothing to show that it was serious," said Le Graet. "He will resume training almost certainly next week."