Kylian Mbappe faces an anxious wait to see if he can play a part in the remainder of Euro 2024 after the France captain suffered a broken nose in his side’s 1-0 win over Austria on Monday.
While the superstar forward does not require immediate surgery on the injury, France are still monitoring his condition and are hesitant to put a timescale on his recovery ahead of Friday’s match against the Netherlands.
The president of the France Football Federation Philippe Diallo told a news conference that it was “too soon to know” if Mbappe will be able to play a part in the rest of the tournament, even as plans were being made for the 25-year-old to wear a protective mask should he return.
Mbappe was left covered in blood and later taken to hospital after colliding with Austria defender Kevin Danso’s shoulder in the 1-0 win in Dusseldorf, with the match overshadowed by the injury to Real Madrid’s new signing.
Mbappe, who was booked after re-entering the pitch following treatment, was pictured leaving the stadium in an ambulance after the game and even joked on social media, asking his followers for “any ideas for masks?”
However, France are remaining cautious ahead of facing the Netherlands on Friday
“The first responses were quite positive as there is no surgery planned for the moment,” Diallo said.
“Now it is too soon to know if he will be able to play for the remainder of the tournament, or to provide a schedule for his situation.
“Obviously there were some medical examinations performed on site to know more about Kylian Mbappe’s nose and they made some conclusions pretty quickly.
“They tried to reduce the aftermath of his fracture, for him to be able to remain in the tournament.
“As I said, there is no surgery planned for the moment and we are still waiting for things to evolve later in order to know more about the conditions of his participation in the remainder of the tournament.”
Head coach Didier Deschamps, who described Mbappe’s injury as a “big negative” on the night, said the forward was getting better by the following morning.
“There will still be exams tomorrow to make sure we see how things evolve,” Deschamps said in a video interview with the France Football Federation posted on social media.
“The medical staff did what was necessary to reduce it as much as possible. Even if it will not be immediately, he will have to undergo surgery.
“Already this morning he was a little better, so we will see that and monitor it closely every day.”
Mbappe sustained the injury challenging for a header in the penalty box when he collided with the shoulder of Austria defender Danso.
Mbappe’s nose started bleeding and he stayed down following the challenge as Austria broke forward when they cleared the France corner.
He received medical attention after play was stopped, with his white shirt already stained with blood. Mbappe covered his nose with his hand after getting to his feet.
The 25-year-old star was helped off the pitch by medics before he was bizarrely booked when he attempted to re-enter the field of play without permission from the referee.
It then became clear that Mbappe could not continue and he left the pitch, going straight down the tunnel with nine minutes of stoppage time remaining.
Mbappe was jeered by the Austria fans as he went off the pitch, in response to what they perceived to be time-wasting tactics with France down to 10 players.
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.
“His nose is not good at all,” Deschamps said. “Even if it’s just the nose, it’s the big negative point for us tonight. The medical staff is checking him out. I saw him on the massage table, and you know… he didn’t get off lightly.”
The World Cup golden boot winner will now wear a protective mask, which may have to remain in place throughout the remainder of the Euros depending on the extent of the injury.
“I’m not going to go into hypotheses, but I’ll say what I’ve always said: The French team with Kylian will always be stronger, the national squad will always be stronger with him,” Deschamps said.
“But if, and I use your ‘if’, the news doesn’t go along these lines, we’ll have to be without him. But Kylian is Kylian, and any team he’s in, the squad is always much stronger.”