Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka has been ruled out of France's World Cup qualifiers against Lithuania due to his toe injury.

Anelka played Saturday as Chelsea lost 1-0 at Tottenham in the Premier League. He has hurt his big toe on his left foot and will be out about three weeks, the French Football Federation said on its Web site after earlier indicating he would be out for about 30days.

Anelka will be replaced by Paris Saint-Germain striker Guillaume Hoarau for the Group 7 matches on Saturday and April 1.

Coach Raymond Domenech initially left out the 25-year-old Hoarau, who is the second leading scorer in the French league with15 goals this season.

France is third in Group 7, trailing both Serbia and Lithuania by five points, although it has a game in hand.

(Xinhua News Agency March24, 2009)