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Kylian Mbappe broke his nose in this clash with an Austrian defender at the Euro 24 tournament in Germany (Soccer America)
by Mick the Ram
French superstar Kylian Mbappe, regarded by many as the best player in Europe and in the top three in the world, suffered a broken nose during his team’s opening game at Euro 2024.
Playing against Austria in the German city of Düsseldorf, the 25-year-old smashed his face into the shoulder of an opponent in an aerial challenge, mid-way through the second half and stayed down in the penalty area as a result.
After receiving lengthy treatment the French captain was withdrawn and taken to the local hospital, where the break was confirmed.
Although it is understood that he will not need immediate surgery, he is regarded as doubtful for the last two games of the group stages.
The French Football Federation have indicated that a mask will be custom-made for their talisman, which he will wear if as seems likely, France progress to the knockout games.
He did return to train with his teammates a couple of days later at their training base in Paderborn, and appeared to be sporting a protective covering.
However, he did not join in with any of the drills and instead took part in some shooting practice away from the main squad.
Mbappe has scored 47 goals in 80 appearances for his country and is integral to their hopes of winning a third European title.
Even with broken nose team comes first
Following the collision, which at first seemed fairly innocuous, France wanted to replace Mbappe with Olivier Giroud, but play restarted without the substitution taking place, even though the captain had already left the field.
With a heavy hint of gamesmanship, the injured Mbappe went back on to the pitch without permission and sat down, so as not to leave his side needing to carry on playing with just 10 men. This earned the Frenchman a yellow card, but ensured that his teammates could re-group without him.
Uncertainty if can play in next games
His Head Coach, Didier Deschamps, admitted afterwards that his “number 10 was not doing well”. He added that there would be a need to check it out properly, but initially he believed the break seemed “quite complicated”.
When asked if he would feature in their next game against the Netherlands, he refused to speculate, although he did accept that the French team with their captain Kylian would naturally always be stronger, than being forced to play without him.
Mask will be fitted if allowed to play on
Mbappe will be closely monitored, and the President of the French Football Federation, Phillipe Diallo, maintained that they have to be hesitant with regards to putting a timescale on his recovery.
He said they would be guided by medical advice, although plans were in an advanced stage to provide their skipper with a protective mask should he be allowed to return.
Mr Diallo spoke briefly to the media saying only: “Obviously there were some medical examinations performed on site and they made some conclusions pretty quickly, trying to reduce the aftermath of his fracture, for him to be able to remain in the tournament.”
He added that there is no surgery planned for the moment and they would give it a few days for things to evolve to know more about the conditions of his participation in the remainder of the tournament.
Hopes of teammates
Team-mate Adrien Rabiot tried to put a positive spin on the situation saying: “maybe he’ll be ready for the third match”, which is against Poland in the middle of next week.
Best wishes from opponent
The Austrian defender involved in the clash, Kevin Danso, posted a message on X which wished Mbappe a good recovery, saying: “I am sorry to French supporters that Kylian was injured in our duel; I hope he can quickly get back on the pitch.”
Player speaks encouragingly
As the game against the Dutch grew nearer there was some increased hope with Deschamps revealing that his condition had improved overnight and the player himself possibly dropped the biggest hint of all by declaring on Instagram: “Without risks, there are no victories.”
Madrid seem more bothered about his physical appearance
The star forward will officially be revealed as a Real Madrid player after the tournament and their doctors are obviously concerned about the injury. He does not officially join until 1 July and is scheduled to be introduced to an adoring crowd at the Santiago-Bernabeu on 16 July.
Bizarrely, the Spanish giants say this will be postponed if the bruises from any surgery the player may have to undergo at the end of the Euros, will ruin the appearance of their star signing at the high-profile presentation.
Big games coming up
For now, Mbappe’s only concern will be to get back onto the pitch and help his team progress as far as possible. Their next opponents, the Netherlands, also won their opener so the up-coming fixture is of great importance.
Shock already in the tournament
Elsewhere at the Euros, after the completion of the first round of group games there has been a couple of early shock results, particularly in Group E, where Romania thrashed Ukraine 3-0, before in what undoubtedly was the biggest upset so far, Slovakia beat high-ranking Belgium 1-0.
The second set of games are of often cagy affairs, building to an exciting third round of matches to decide who goes forward into the knockout stages.
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