Djibril Cisse will miss the World Cup after fracturing his right leg in France's 3-1 win over China in their final warm-up game on Wednesday.
"He is in hospital and he's undergoing surgery," France coach Raymond Domenech told reporters after the match in St Etienne. "It's a vicious blow to all of us".
"Everything was going so well. All the players are depressed. Even during the game you could see it. They just lost interest in the game."
French Football Federation (FFF) president Jean-Pierre Escalettes told French radio that Cisse had fractured his right fibula and shinbone (tibia).
The Liverpool forward was hurt in a clash with a Chinese defender 10 minutes into in his team's final outing before they fly out to Germany for the finals on Thursday.
Grimacing with pain, he was taken away on a stretcher and received treatment on his right leg for several minutes before going to hospital.
"I was just beside him when he fell and I heard him yell," said Thierry Henry. "Losing a team mate and a friend like that just before a World Cup, it's really tough."
LEFT LEG
Cisse, who had been expected to start France's opening World Cup game against Switzerland in Stuttgart on Tuesday, missed the European Championship finals two years ago through suspension.
The 24-year-old was then sidelined for several months after breaking his left leg in an English Premier League game in October 2004.
A non-playing member of France's 2002 World Cup squad, Cisse was looking forward to featuring in a major tournament for the first time.
"The rule is that we can replace an injured player until a day before the first match," said Domenech. "For the moment I have other worries. Then we'll think about it and talk about it between us."
David Trezeguet, who came on for Cisse on Wednesday, opened the scoring from an Henry pass after 31 minutes.
China, crushed 4-1 by Switzerland last week, equalised in the 69th with a penalty by captain Zheng Zhi after he was tackled from behind by Eric Abidal.
MISSED PENALTY
The visitors collapsed in the closing stages, an own goal from substitute Wang Yun putting France back in front and Henry wrapping up victory two minutes into added time.
Zinedine Zidane, who will retire after the World Cup and was playing his last match in France, missed a penalty in the 15th minute after he was brought down in the box.
Despite the miss, the captain stepped up a gear after below-par performances in the last two friendlies and thrilled the crowd with several clever moves.
The other satisfaction for France on a night marred by Cisse's misfortune was midfielder Franck Ribery, who once again sparkled after coming on and was involved in the two late goals that won the game.
France's other Group G opponents are South Korea and Togo.
"Djibril's injury is the only thing that's worrying us right now," said Domenech. "It's a drama."
