Paris Saint-Germain star Adrian Rabiot is proud to have made his France debut in the 0-0 draw against Ivory Coast but could now be out of the Champions League clash against Arsenal due to injury.
Rabiot, 21, made his international bow for Les Bleus on Tuesday night in Lens but had to go off in the 78th minute due to a muscle injury.
"This evening, there was a lot of emotion, I was very happy with this first selection, everything went well until my injury," he said.
"I hope that this is the beginning of an adventure, and I must continue on that path.
"My coach [Didier Deschamps] asked me to do what I do in the club. It's easy, it's a good group."
While the talented youngster is not optimistic about his chances of recovering in time to play at the Emirates Stadium, Lyon striker Nabil Fekir went in the opposite direction as he made his return to Deschamps' team after a serious knee injury saw him miss the European Championship.
"It's not easy to get everything back quickly, but I do not have to worry about it, I feel good about it, and I try to give the best of myself for the team," he said after replacing Ousmane Dembele at half-time.
"Tonight, we unfortunately failed to score ... we have to get back to work ... I have no apprehension about my injury [and] I tried to play with freedom."
Captain Raphael Varane was equally displeased about France's failure to control the game but saw enough to provide encouragement for the new year ahead.
"There was a lack of rhythm ... and we were faced with a team that was well-organised tonight, with a lot of physical strength. They were strong in the tackle, and we lacked creativity," he added.
"We cannot play every game at the highest level, we will remember a lot of positives this year.
"It was a great year, we will continue to grow, we have young players who are maturing and the group has a lot of potential."