Striker Kylian Mbappe has given France a major injury worry, few days before their World Cup quarter-final blockbuster clash with England in Qatar.
The tournament’s leading scorer with five goals was missing from training after complaining of a niggling ankle injury.
And though Didier Deschamps’ coaching staff said the PSG star was simply doing recovery work in the gym, his absence has sparked worries in the French camp that he could miss Saturday’s fixture against the Three Lions of England.
The Les Bleus side were given Monday off to recover after the 3-1 victory over Poland on Sunday and Mbappe was the only player not to return to full training on Tuesday.
Mbappe has been in sparkling form in the Qatar World Cup and is the player Gareth Southgate’s men are wary of more than anyone.
France’s record scorer, with 52 eye-popping goals, Olivier Giroud highlighted the importance of Mbappe to France’s quest of retaining the title they won in Russia in 2018.
Giroud said, “Kylian is obviously the best striker I have played with in all of my career. He is an amazing player and the scary thing is that he is still young and is only going to improve.
“We’ve still not seen the best of him and I hope it will come soon because we know that he is going to break all the records. Right from the beginning of this competition he has been crucial for us, very decisive and competitive. He is unbelievable”, added Giroud, who stars in front for Serie A giants AC Milan.
