France suffered a major setback to their Euro 2008 preparations when it was revealed that skipper Patrick Vieira would miss their tournament opener against Romania. Inter Milan midfielder Vieira injured his thigh in training on Friday, and some reports are suggesting that he may have to fight against the clock in order to be fit for the crunch games against Italy and Holland.

Les Bleus fans will hope that Vieira's injury will not affect them the same way Zidane's did in the 2002 World Cup. Then missing their star midfield playmaker, the French crashed out of the quadrennial extravaganza without scoring a goal.

Coach Raymond Domenech has called up Mathieu Flamini as cover for Vieira. Vieira, who has been capped more than 100 times for his country, did not figure in the friendlies against Ecuador and Paraguay, and will miss their last warm up game against Colombia. Lyon midfielder Jeremy Toulalan is likely to take Vieira's place in the starting XI.