Euro 2024: no operation, what an absence, France hanging on Kylian Mbappé's nose

Kylian Mbappé jouera-t-il contre les Pays-Bas, vendredi ? MAXPPP – Nick Potts

Victime d’une fracture du nez lundi, lors de la victoire face à l’Autriche (1-0), le capitaine tricolore nourrit toujours les inquiétudes ce mardi 18 juin.

"He won't vote nostril". "Nose down, the Blues won". Social networks have had a field day since Monday evening. At the same time, France has rediscovered fear. The one that quite regularly escorts its big stars in international competitions, all sports combined, from Antoine Dupont to Zinédine Zidane. Against Austria, and despite the 1-0 success at the opening of the Euro, Kylian Mbappé was added to this list as prestigious as it is dark. After a week of going to the front in the face of political news in France, the captain of the Blues came out with a broken nose, arousing the greatest concerns and all the attention ever since. of the European press.

Bloody after a shock on the shoulder of Austrian defender Danso in the 87th minute on Monday, the future Madrilenian was treated on the pitch before giving up his place in the 90th minute. "Aux French fans: I'm sorry that Kylian Mbappé was injured during our duel. I wish him a good recovery and I hope that he can quickly find his place on the pitch,” wrote the Lens player, Danso, a few hours later on X.

🇦🇹 Es war ein großer Kampf, leider mit unglücklichem Ausgang für uns. Trotzdem bin ich sehr stolz auf unsere Mannschaft, unsere Fans und auf mein EM Debüt. Danke euch allen für euren unglaublichen Support in diesem Stadion in Düsseldorf, was immer noch ein besonderer Ort für mich… pic.twitter.com/Tgau52lq1n

— Kevin Danso (@KevinDanso98) June 17, 2024

"He's a warrior, he'll be fine"

Before him, Mbappé's partners had tried to reassure. "It’s not much. He’s a warrior, he’ll be fine,” said Adrien Rabiot. "It will do it", there will be no operation", also explained the president of the FFF, Philippe Diallo, who reiterated his optimism this Tuesday.

Close face and quite annoyed by an upcoming "three hour bus trip without escort" in the German night, Didier Deschamps, on the other hand, was much more worried the day before. "It’s not well, it’s in bad condition. This is obviously the downside of this evening. I'm not going to deal with ifs. But the French team with Kylian will always be stronger,” whispered the coach at a post-match press conference.

Mask, concussion and absence

At this moment, "DD" was waiting to know exactly the nature of his striker's injury. This had initially raised fears of an emergency operation, information which was initially confirmed by several media outlets. But radiological examinations in a hospital in Düsseldorf ruled out surgical intervention. Before a press release from the FFF made everything official at 2:03 p.m. "Kylian Mbappé has returned to the base camp of the French team. He will receive treatment in the coming days, without undergoing surgical intervention immediately, wrote the Blues management.

"A mask will be made in such a way as to allow number 10 of the French team to consider resuming competition after a period devoted to treatment", continued the text. The use of protection was expected and Mbappé himself preferred to smile by asking on his social networks for "ideas for masks ?".

Des idées de masques 🎭😅 ?

— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) June 17, 2024

If wearing protection has become quite classic in today's sport, the duration of unavailability nevertheless casts a huge shadow over the French team. According to specialists, a broken nose would necessarily imply a concussion. And therefore the recovery protocol that accompanies it. Without forgetting the effects – headaches on exertion or not –. To this extent, the former Parisian's participation in Friday's match against the Netherlands seems very unlikely. What about the match against Poland, Tuesday June 25?

An attack to rethink without "Kyky"

If confirmed, this absence would force the French team and Didier Deschamps into a real headache. Because even with Mbappé, decisive on the only goal of the match, the Blues did not shine in the offensive animation on Monday. Like the clumsiness of Ousmane Dembélé or Marcus Thuram. The coach should in any case review his plans. By integrating Olivier Giroud, replacement against Austria ? "I'm not thinking about myself at the moment, the center forward reacted on Monday. I'm thinking to him (Kylian Mbappé), to the team."

This doubt recalls dark hours of French sport. In 2002, Zinédine Zidane's thigh, affected in preparation, triggered a wave of fears. It led to the pitiful elimination of the Blues. After two of the three matches played without “Zizou”, the reigning world champions were eliminated in the first round of the World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

Closer, during the last Rugby World Cup in France, the star of the French XV, Antoine Dupont, suffered a maxillo-zygomatic fracture at the temple, during the second group match against Uruguay, in September 2023. Having undergone surgery, the Toulouse man was able to return to the field three weeks later. But his recovery had largely monopolized the attention. And the blue rugby players, too, ended up sinking in the quarter-finals despite the return of their star.

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