No World Cup regrets for Payet

BeSoccer 5 years ago 782 |

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Payet said he'd risk his fitness again. GOAL

As he prepares to watch the World Cup from afar, Dimitri Payet admits he was "fully aware of the risks" of his Europa League involvement.

Dimitri Payet has no regrets about risking his fitness in the Europa League final despite the decision costing him a spot in France's World Cup squad.

The Marseille skipper left the pitch in tears after just half an hour of Wednesday's crushing 3-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in Lyon.

Payet, who had been troubled by a muscle problem in the lead-up to the match, sustained a fresh hamstring injury that France boss Didier Deschamps confirmed as the reason for his exclusion from the 23 for Russia.

The 31-year-old former West Ham playmaker took to social media on Saturday to offer his support to the national team, while insisting he would not hesitate to make the same call again.

"When you are a professional player, the France team is above all, it's true," Payet wrote on Instagram.

"But [Marseille] is in my heart and if it is necessary to do it again tomorrow, after tomorrow, in six months, in one year, I would do it without question.

"I repeat, I love this club and I am ready to make sacrifices for it... I was fully aware of the risks I was taking and I fully assume the consequences.

"I am and I will be the first supporter of Les Bleus for this World Cup. I will heal and start preparing for next season. You can count on me."