Kylian Mbappe crashed with Austria’s Kevin Danso and suffered a broken nose during the win in their opening game and was benched in their goalless draw with the Netherlands on Friday.
Kylian Mbappe has been wearing a face mask in order to prevent any further damage. (Photo – Getty Images)
New Delhi: With Kylian Mbappe recovering from a broken nose, France manager Didier Deschamps has provided a fresh update on his injury talking about if he is ready for France’s next and final group stage game against Poland at Euro 2024. Deschamps said that Mbappe is “raring to go” and hinted that the forward could be back in the French outfit for the Poland clash.
Kylian Mbappe crashed with Austria’s Kevin Danso and suffered a broken nose during the win in their opening game and was benched in their goalless draw with the Netherlands on Friday. The French captain has been wearing a protective mask and is back in full training. He even scored two goals in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Saturday.
France aren’t yet confirmed for a place in the knockout stages of the event but the situation will change if they avoid a defeat against Poland – the first team to get knocked out of Euro 2024. The Netherlands were rather stubborn in front of France who tried breaking them but couldn’t succeed. Mbappe’s return on the field would surely be great for Deschamps, though he admits it could be difficult for him to adapt to the mask.
“It’s better every day. He was in our training sessions. The bruise has gone down a lot. He’s getting used to the mask. He wants to play, he’s raring to go. He wanted to play against the Netherlands, and he wants to play tomorrow,” Deschamps said.
“(He has) no problems with breathing but the way he sees, yes. For those who play with a mask, it’s not a constraint, but it does limit your vision. He wears it because he needs to protect his face in certain incidents that could occur,” the French manager added.
“There will be contact regardless of where you play, whenever you have those one-vs-ones. Obviously, yes, it’s maybe hindering, but it’ll be something he’ll get used to. It’s like wearing those 3D glasses. We have as thin a mask as possible,” Deschamps stressed.
N’Golo Kante on Kylian Mbappe’s return
Meanwhile, N’Golo Kante has been France’s stand-out performer at the marquee event so far and was awarded Player of the Match in both of their games after being absent from the national side for two years. He is looking forward to taking the field with Mbappe as France aim to go big in their final group-stage fixture.
“With Kylian back, I think that can help us to score and win. Clearly, it’s a big plus to have him back. He was great, decisive, dangerous, he played really well in the training session. To be honest, I forgot that he was wearing a mask. I hope that will reflect on the pitch tomorrow,” Kante said.