…Mbappé to wear mask following collision in Austria win
…France upbeat given captain does not require surgery
Kylian Mbappé could miss the rest of the Euro 2024 group stage but France are optimistic about the severity of their captain’s broken nose after early indications suggested he does not require surgery. France will continue to monitor his condition over the next 48 hours.
The French Football Federation are sourcing a tailor-made mask for Mbappé, and while he is expected to miss Friday’s match against the Netherlands in Leipzig, they are upbeat about the forward’s diagnosis. France play Poland in Dortmund in their final Group D match next Tuesday.
Mbappé suffered a broken nose after colliding with Kevin Danso’s shoulder in Monday’s 1-0 win Austria. Mbappé, who was replaced by Olivier Giroud late on, was taken to Düsseldorf hospital and returned to the French base in Paderborn at about 3am on Tuesday. Posting on X later in the day, Mbappé wrote: “Des idées de masques?”
On Tuesday the FFF president, Philippe Diallo, told a press conference the verdict on Mbappé was “rather reassuring”. He added: “Concerning his participation in the rest of the tournament, it is a bit premature to decide that. The news coming from the doctors is more positive than not and luckily he doesn’t need surgery which would rule him out completely for the rest of the tournament.”
Mbappé has undergone several tests and the FFF are encouraged by the initial medical reports. “They have tried to limit the consequences of the impact,” Diallo said. “It happened last night and there is no immediate surgical intervention right now. We will wait and see during the day [Tuesday]. We will see exactly what happens over the next day or two.”
Danso, the former Southampton defender, apologised for his part in the incident on social media. “To French supporters: I am sorry that Kylian Mbappé was injured during our duel,” he said. “I wish him a good recovery and I hope he can quickly find his place on the pitch.”
The buildup to France’s opening-round victory was dominated by political discourse following president Emmanuel Macron’s decision to call a snap parliamentary election after he was trounced in the European Union vote by Marine Le Pen’s far-right party.
Mbappé and Marcus Thuram discussed the upcoming vote, with the former warning against rising “extremes”. Diallo said France’s players should be able to speak freely on the subject. “I don’t see any problems,” he said. “I’ve always said that everybody is guaranteed the liberty of expression, freedom of speech, they are young men and I think we should congratulate them on their behaviour.”
The Netherlands goalkeeper, Bart Verbruggen, said Mbappé’s expected absence will have little impact on their preparations for the game because of the wealth of attacking options at Didier Deschamps’s disposal. “It does not matter if he is there or not,” the Brighton goalkeeper said. “They have a lot of other good forwards and besides them a really good team. But we are not scared of anyone so if he is there or not, it doesn’t make any difference.”
The Guardian (UK)
