FRA - Injury knocks talented Amant out of France squad

PARIS (EuroBasket Women 2011) - France showed everyone just how deep their talent pool was last year when overcoming the absence of star Sandrine Gruda to have an impressive FIBA World Championship for Women campaign in the Czech Republic.

Pierre Vincent's team made it to the Quarter-Finals where a late implosion against Spain led to an overtime defeat that knocked them out of medal contention.

Among the newcomers to stand out for Les Bleues was Marielle Amant, a player who this season shone for French club Arras.

The 21-year-old will not play at next month's EuroBasket Women, the qualifying tournament for the London Olympics, because of injury.

Neither she, nor veteran power forward/center Elodie Godin were in the trimmed down squad announced by the French Basketball Federation. The players are to begin a second week of training at Divonne-les-Bains on May 19.

Godin, 25, was in the French gold-medal winning side of 2009 in Latvia and also last's year team.

Godin earlier this week finished competing in the Italian league play-offs with Cras Basket Taranto but is hurt and is due to have an operation in Rome.

At the EuroBasket Women in Poland, France will take on Greece, Croatia and Latvia in Group D.

The EuroBasket Women tips off on June 18.

The 16 players still with France who will be at Divonne-les-Bains from May 19 to 26 are Clémence Beikes, Aurélie Bonnan, Ana Maria Cata Chitiga, Jennifer Digbeu, Céline Dumerc, Emilie Gomis, Sandrine Gruda, Pauline Krawczyk, Marion Laborde, Anaël Lardy, Edwige Lawson-Wade, Florence Lepron, Endéné Miyem, Emmeline Ndongue, Paoline Salagnac and Isabelle Yacoubou-Dehoui.

FIBA