Following injuries to Eric Abidal and Jeremy Toulalan, France have lost another player to injury for the second-leg of their World Cup qualification play-off against Ireland.

Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby has been pulled out of the Les Bleus squad after failing to recover from a left calf injury.

Diaby picked up the injury nine days ago in the 4-1 win at Wolves but was still included in the squad by Raymond Domenech despite the objections of manager Arsene Wenger who said he would be out for three weeks.

The 23-year-old midfielder has played 16 times for Arsenal this season in the Premier League and Champions League, scoring three goals and providing two assists.