France winger Franck Ribery, who has been suffering from back pains, is expected to be fit a week before Les Bleus’ opening World Cup match, coach Didier Deschamps said yesterday.

Ribery missed last weekend’s warm-up game against Norway, which France won 4-0, and will also sit out today’s friendly against Paraguay.

“He’s been having back problems for several months,” Deschamps told a news conference.

“Our goal is that he feels better than the previous weeks and that he is available for the Jamaica game (on June 8).”

France play their last warm-up game against Jamaica in Lille on June 8. They open their World Cup campaign with a Group E match against Honduras on June 15, before taking on Ecuador and Switzerland.

Asked if the Bayern Munich winger could miss the World Cup finals, Deschamps replied: “I don’t want to think about it today.

“We are doing everything so that he can come back. He is confident. If there is a problem, we will have time to find a solution.”

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