Sonko giving up France hope

Ibrahima Sonko has conceded he is unlikely to win the chance to play for France.

Sonko is considering his international options as he is eligible to play for either France or Senegal.

The giant defender has enjoyed a fine season to date with Reading, but he is pessimistic about his chances of breaking into Raymond Domenech's Les Bleus plans.

"I have no reason to think the French team could be interested in me," Sonko told L'Equipe.

"I don't know if Mr Domenech knows me and has ever seen me play."

The 25-year-old also admitted Reading saved him from possibly ending up on the footballing scrapheap.

Reading signed Sonko from Brentford in the summer of 2004 and the player has established himself as a key member of Steve Coppell's side.

"I moved to England because I had no other choice," admitted Sonko.

"At Brentford, I had to start everything again from scratch, with three hours of training every day to go and come back from training sessions.

"Fortunately Reading saw me, otherwise my career may have stopped."

Sonko is relishing life in the Premiership and the chance to test himself against the best players in the country.

"At the start of the season, I could not believe it," added Sonko

"It was my dream as a kid that came true, now I am among the great players.

"Maybe I don't have a big name, but I want to show I am a good player.

"I have been persevering and have been keeping faith in me more than faith people had in me."