St Etienne coach Alain Perrin was left cursing his side's injury troubles as they head into Wednesday's crunch Ligue 1 clash with bottom of the table Le Havre.
The Normandy outfit are the only team below St Etienne in the table and the visitors desperately need a win to boost their hopes of avoiding relegation.
But Perrin's options have been severely limited by injuries.
Already without Loic Perrin after he had surgery last month, his replacement Blaise Matuidi is now sidelined by a recurrence of a thigh problem.
Geoffrey Dernis (thigh) and Cedric Varrault (knee) are also out while Araujo Ilan (foot), Sebastien Grax (knee) and Yohann Andreu will require late fitness tests.
Perrin, who this week insisted he will stay with St Etienne even if they drop into Ligue 2, told the club website, www.asse.fr: "I hoped everyone would be fit for the end of season but, in three days, I have again lost players."
The absence of Matuidi is a particular setback, with Perrin continuing: "The tests revealed Blaise will certainly be out until the end of the season. It is a big blow because I was counting on him to fill the defensive midfield role.
"I have never known such a season. It is an extraordinary run of bad luck. It is what explains our difficult situation."
Le Havre, who are nine points behind St Etienne and could be relegated on Wednesday, have doubts over Olivier Davidas and Jean-Armel Kana-Biyik (both knee).
