PARIS – France captain Kylian Mbappe is a doubt for his team’s Euro 2024 clash with the Netherlands after breaking his nose in the 1-0 win over Austria Monday, the French Football Federation said.
Mbappe’s presence in the Group D game against the Dutch in Leipzig on Friday “remains uncertain”, the FFF said according to AFP, adding that “a new update will be provided tomorrow”.
The 25-year-old suffered the injury when he collided with Kevin Danso towards the end of the match in Duesseldorf, his nose connecting violently with the Austrian defender’s shoulder.
Mbappe, who provoked the own goal scored by Maximilian Woeber which decided the game in France’s favour, came off with his shirt covered in blood.
The French federation later said Mbappe had undergone tests at a hospital in Duesseldorf before rejoining the France squad at their base in Paderborn, a two-hour drive to the east.
They said he would not require surgery and added that the new Real Madrid signing would have a mask fitted to enable him to return to action “after a period of treatment”.
“He is in a bad way. He is not well. His nose is a mess, that’s for sure. That is the black mark of the evening for us,” France coach Didier Deschamps said of Mbappe after the Austria match.
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