France boss Didier Deschamps said captain Kylian Mbappe is “not doing well” after sustaining a potentially broken nose in Monday’s 1-0 win over Austria.
While Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation, told reporters in Duesseldorf that Mbappe does “not require an operation”, the extent of his injury is still unknown.
Late in France’s opening EURO 2024 match in Dusseldorf, Mbappe headed the ball and his face hit Kevin Danso’s shoulder with the follow-through.
The 25-year-old forward received treatment on the pitch, with a lot of blood on his face, and then walked off the side of the pitch with France wanting to replace him with Olivier Giroud.
When play restarted without allowing France to make their change, Mbappe went on the pitch without permission and sat down – picking up a yellow card.
He was then replaced by Giroud.
“He’s not doing well,” said boss Didier Deschamps in the post-match news conference.
“His nose got badly hit. We need to check it out but it seems quite complicated, which is really very unfortunate for us.
“The medical staff are checking him out. I saw him on the massage table. He didn’t get off lightly. It’s still to be seen and I cannot at this stage give you a precise answer.”
Mbappe, who has scored 47 goals in 80 appearances for France, will be integral to their hopes of winning a third European title.
He had a hand in France’s only goal as his cross was headed into his own net by Max Wober.
Mbappe, who has yet to score a Euros goal to add to his 12 World Cup strikes, will join Real Madrid from Paris St-Germain this summer.
Deschamps was asked if he could miss their next game against the Netherlands on Friday.
“I’m not going to go into hypothesis but the French team with Kylian will always be stronger with him,” he said.
“If the news doesn’t go along these lines then we will have to fight without him.”
