France manager Didier Deschamps has aimed a dig at Frank Lampard after the Chelsea boss asked him not to pick N'Golo Kante over the international break.
Kante has battled with hamstring problems all season, missing a month of action before returning against Liverpool, only to miss the next two games.
Deschamps, who considers Kante to be a first-choice player, has nonetheless included the Frenchman in his squad ahead of internationals against Iceland and Turkey.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of France's clash with Iceland, Deschamps told The Mirror: "Lampard had asked me not to pick Kante at the last break.
"If that's still the way I'm going to call him later to tell him it would be nice if you play Olivier Giroud a little bit!"
Kante's hamstring problems first occurred ahead of the Europa League final in May, but the midfielder nonetheless starred in the final as Chelsea claimed a 4-1 win over Arsenal.
The 28-year-old, who featured in Chelsea's opening pair of games this season ahead of spending a month on the sidelines, played 90 minutes of the Blues' 2-1 victory over Lille on Wednesday night.
Leo Nieboer
