France striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto has been ruled out for the remainder of the European Championships because of a serious knee injury, the French national team announced on Friday.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward twisted her knee in France's 2-1 win over Belgium on Thursday and ruptured her anterior cruciate ligaments. She will be out of action for between six to eight months.
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Katoto, 26, went off injured in the 17th minute of Thursday's match, with coach Corinne Diacre saying after the game that she had sprained her knee.
She had felt pain in her knee at training but still played the following day. She left the New York stadium in Rotherham on crutches and the MRI she passed on Friday revealed the damage of the injury.
The forward has left England and returned to Paris following the injury.
It is a huge blow for Les Bleues and head coach Diacre. Katoto is one of the best strikers in Europe and enjoyed a wonderful domestic season with PSG and was voted the best player in the French first division last season.
Katoto played a key part in France's 5-1 demolition of Italy in their opening match with a goal and an assist on Sunday. She has scored 26 times in 32 caps in her international career so far.
Paris FC striker Ouleymata Sarr is likely to replace her in the starting lineup. The 26-year-old has 19 caps and five goals for France and scored twice against Cameroon in a friendly match before the start of the Euros.
France are top of Group D with six points following wins over Belgium and Italy, and have advanced to the quarterfinals alongside England and Germany.
Information from Reuters was included in this report.
