Henry and Vieira join France casualty list

CLAIREFONTAINE, France (Reuters) - France will be depleted by injuries when they face England in a friendly on Wednesday after striker Thierry Henry and captain Patrick Vieira added their names to a long casualty list on Monday.

Henry pulled out of the game at the Stade de France because of an unspecified injury, a French team spokesman said.

Inter Milan midfielder Vieira, who is hampered by a sore thigh muscle, said he would not play.

"I'm feeling better but not enough to play on Wednesday," Vieira told reporters at France's training camp outside Paris "It's very frustrating."

France coach Raymond Domenech, who last week named a 39-man squad both for the England match and a game between France's B side and Mali on Tuesday in Paris, has seen many of them pull out since.

"I named 39 players, I should have picked 45 and even that may not have been enough," Domenech told a news conference.

"I'm impatient to be at the training session and see how many players are in shorts and how many are in an ambulance," added the coach, two days ahead of the last match before he unveils his 23-man Euro 2008 squad in May.

"It's often like this at this time of year, with a crowded calendar and bad weather on top of that. It's not a disaster but if we have the same sort of situation in a month or so, it will be a real problem."

Karim Benzema withdrew on Sunday after hurting his left ankle in Olympique Lyon's 4-2 Ligue 1 win over Paris St Germain.

David Trezeguet replaced him in the squad and is expected to start against England alongside Chelsea's Nicolas Anelka.

"I've played many times with David and it worked well," Anelka told reporters. "He's an excellent striker. If we were to be paired, that would suit me."

Uncapped Racing Lens forward Loic Remy, 21, replaces Henry in the squad but is unlikely to start against England.

Marseille forward Mathieu Valbuena and Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna are also unavailable for selection because of injury worries.

(Editing by Miles Evans and Trevor Huggins)