Marseille playmaker Hatem Ben Arfa on Monday withdrew from the France squad to play World Cup qualifiers against Austria on September 6 and Serbia on September 10, French team sources said.
Later on Monday, France coach Raymond Domenech called up Jimmy Briand of Rennes to replace Ben Arfa.
Ben Arfa missed his club's weekend win over Sochaux after suffering a groin strain and briefly appeared at the France squad headquarters in Clairefontaine outside Paris before returning to his club for treatment.