A pernickety UEFA rule has stopped Kylian Mbappe protecting his broken nose with a special France-themed mask at Euro 2024.
Mbappe will have to wear a mask for the rest of the tournament after suffering a savage injury in France’s opening match but will have to bow to UEFA’s regulations over such equipment.
After going up for a header with Austria defender Kevin Danso, the Frenchman was left severely bloodied when he inadvertently headbutted the defender’s shoulder.
There were fears that Mbappe could miss the entire tournament after it was confirmed that he had broken his nose and was taken to hospital.
But he looks set to return for France after being seen sporting a mask with the tricolore colours of the nation’s flag on Thursday.
However, UEFA rules stipulate that he will not be able to actually wear the mask during a match as regulations state that medical equipment ‘must be a single colour and free of team and manufacturer identification’.
The full law states: “Medical equipment (e.g.: head protection, face masks, casts, kneepads or knee braces, elbow pads): Medical equipment worn on the field of play must be a single colour and free of team and manufacturer identification.
“Items worn on legs and arms should be the same colour as the corresponding playing attire item (e.g.: elbow pads or tape used on the arm the same colour as shirt sleeves, and kneepads the same colour as shorts).”
While it has not been decided if Mbappe will take part in France’s match against the Netherlands on Friday, any mask that he might wear will have to be cleared by UEFA first.
Mbappe, who signed for Real Madrid this summer from Paris Saint-Germain, had already asked on social media what his choice of mask should be, unsurprisingly garnering a huge reaction from fans – and even players.
His countryman, Neal Maupay, replied with a classicly cheeky response – with a picture of his own face as a mask.
While Mbappe has been seen in training on Thursday, it remains to be seen whether France manager Didier Deschamps will select him on Friday.
France play the Netherlands, live on talkSPORT, in a match that could decide the winner of Group D – with both nations winning their opening games.
However, talkSPORT pundit Jason Cundy does not believe the 25-year-old will be back until the knockout stage.
He told The Sports Bar: “Deschamps knows that victory has got them through to the knockout stages. They want to top the group, obviously, but he doesn’t have to rush him back now.
“The next time you’ll see Mbappe is in the last 16. Why would you need to rush him back?
“They’ve got two games in less than a week. He’s not starting the next game.”
France won their opening match 1-0 against Austria when Maximillian Wober scored an own goal.
However, despite being one of the big favourites to win the competition in Germany this summer, they looked unconvincing in their first game.