MARSEILLE, May 18 — Marseille and France international goalkeeper Steve Mandanda suffered a cracked vertebra in his neck following a collision with Guingamp striker Mustapha Yatabare, the club doctor said today.

"Steve suffered a cracked vertebra in his neck. We are reassured that there was no neurological damage," OM club doctor Christophe Baudot told reporters.

Mandanda, who has been named in coach Didier Deschamps' 23-man squad for the World Cup, was stretchered off during the first half of Marseille's final game of the Ligue 1 season after he was caught by the knee of Yatabare at the Stade Velodrome.

Marseille coach Jose Anigo said the news concerning Mandanda's injury was "not reassuring" after the France goalkeeper was taken for tests following the collision.

"The news is not very reassuring. He is in the process of undergoing an MRI which shows a problem with his neck," said Anigo.

"So long as we're not sure, it doesn't help to say anything, but I'm coming from having seen the doctor, it's not very reassuring. It's something that's not very good for him nor for the club."

Mandanda, 29, is France's second-choice goalkeeper behind Tottenham's Hugo Lloris and has been listed in Deschamps's squad for the World Cup finals which start on June 12 in Brazil.

Asked if the injury could affect his World Cup participation, Anigo replied: "I don't know, from what it appears, it was not a simple collision." — AFP