Kylian Mbappe has unveiled a new mask after suffering a broken nose in France’s opening game at Euro 2024.
The French captain picked up the nasty injury in his side’s 1-0 win over Austria on Monday.
He was pictured at France’s training base in Paderborn on Wednesday wearing a protective covering on his nose, and later trained on his own away from the rest of the squad, before getting involved in shooting drills.
And on Thursday, Mbappe trained wearing a new mask in the tricolore colours of the French flag.
However, Uefa rules state any mask must be one uniform colour, so France may be forced into a redesign for the tournament itself.
While Mbappe does not require immediate surgery on the injury, France are still monitoring his condition and are hesitant to put a timescale on his recovery, as Friday’s match against the Netherlands looms, but the new mask suggested could be back in the team very soon.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, head coach Didier Deschamps said: “Everything is going in the right direction after this major shock with the consequences.
“Yesterday he went out, he did a little activity. This will also be the case this evening. Things are moving in the right direction to ensure that he is available tomorrow.”
He added: “We may have to defend, but that should not be our first objective, even if we must be able to do it when necessary. First you have to go forward and give them problems.
“We will aim to put the Dutch team in difficulty, knowing that they have the capacity to bring danger.
“We achieved our objective of winning the first game, but now – as is also the case for the Dutch – it is about winning this game and qualifying. As for any coach, it’s about ensuring we perform as well as possible and are as dangerous as we can be for the opposition.”
Mbappe broke his nose when his face collided with the shoulder of Austria defender Kevin Danso. Blood was seen pouring from Mbappe’s badly swollen nose, turning parts of his white France jersey red.
Mbappe was pictured leaving the stadium in an ambulance after the game and later joked on social media, asking his followers for “any ideas for masks?”
France held on in Dusseldorf to open their Euro 2024 with a victory, joining Netherlands on three points after their opening Group D win over Poland.
Additional reporting by PA