France coach Raymond Domenech has hit back at Arsene Wenger
following the Arsenal manager's claims that Les Bleus are to blame
for Thierry Henry's injury-ravaged campaign. Gunners captain Henry
was last week ruled out for the rest of the season with stomach and
groin problems.
That prompted Wenger to suggest the striker had been badly managed
by France since the World Cup, insisting there was no need for the
player to feature in so many friendly matches for his country. But
Domenech has reacted by saying his football federation have looked
after Henry in the correct way.
"Mr Wenger is starting to seriously tire me out, and he is starting
to tire out a lot of people," said the France coach, following the
announcement of his squad to play Lithuania and Austria in a
double-header later this month. "He doesn't have innate knowledge.
There comes a moment when enough is enough. "When he says that a
player who played in August injures himself (as a result) in March,
I do not understand how he can explain that.
"He is forgetting to say that each time Thierry Henry played a
match for France, three days later he played for Arsenal. "He has
never been injured in matches for France. We have never been
allowed to take risks with the player. We have a clear
conscience."
Henry, who has had back, neck and ankle injuries during the 2006/07
campaign, has made only 27 appearances for Arsenal since signing
his new contract with the club last summer. The 29-year-old has
played in all but one of France's seven matches since their World
Cup final defeat by Italy last July.
