I’m not quite sure what to make of the Appiah situation either. If it were a more minor injury, I’d suspect that LeRoy was playing mind games by making us all wonder, but if he’s expected to be out 2 months, he should be recuperating.

But it’s not the first time I’ve seen this. Last year, Domenech insisted on calling up Thuram (and also encouraging Henry to stay) despite the fact they were injured. I think this is for two reasons. First of all, it allows them to still interact and encourage the other players. A veteran like Appiah has a lot of knowledge to impart. It’s also a matter of wanting a player to get evaluated and treated by the national team doctors, who might see things differently. Club doctors sometimes exaggerate when international duty beckons.

It might be that LeRoy feels that it’s better to have 22 fit players + Appiah than 22 players + a player who wouldn’t ordinarily have made the squad.

When the final 23 is named wouldn’t it be better to let a non-injured player take the roster spot, and just keep Appiah around anyway? Maybe name him as an assistant coach or something to give him permission to be on the touchline?