In Leipzig,
If we were on the other side of the Pyrenees and our name was the Chiringuito, we would have been in a special edition for 72 hours in the four corners of Paderborn and Leipzig, analyzing the slightest actions and gestures of the seriously injured Kylian Mbappé, and to interview the entire local population, from the baker to the local florist, on what they think of this global drama.
We would also have already recorded his package against the Netherlands by hearing him tell Marcus Thuram, as he did on Wednesday in training, that he could not force his shots because his nose made him suffer too much.
But we know the music well having heard it too much from PSG in recent years, and thus draw conclusions that are as hasty as they are pessimistic. No, at the moment, nothing says that the “kyks” will not be part of the match against the Netherlands on Friday, already decisive for qualification in the 8th.
On the contrary, listening to Didier Deschamps at the pre-match press conference on Thursday, everything says on the contrary that he is going to play. “Everything is going in the right direction,” he assured. Yesterday (Tuesday), as you saw, he was able to go out and run a little, this will also be the case this evening (Thursday). It’s moving in the right direction, we’re going to make sure it’s available tomorrow. »
A reassuring first appearance on Wednesday
Indeed, seeing him arrive at the Paderborn training ground on Tuesday was already good news and a good sign in itself. Having come to test his ball sensations with physical trainer Cyril Moine, while the rest of the group finished their bull in the center of the field, Mbappé appeared smiling for someone who will be on the bench on Friday.
And this even though he had not stopped fiddling with his muzzle, on which three straps were installed to hold the nasal septum in place. It’s human, deep down. Like a cold sore that you can’t help but tickle even though you know you have to leave it alone.
After our colleagues called almost all the surgeons specializing in rhinoplasty in the country, the opinions agree: unlike the diagnosis issued for Antoine Dupont, who had taken a TGV named Johan Deysel in the middle of face, there seems to be no contraindication to Mbappé not being able to hold his place against Virgil Van Dijk and others.
We will simply have to see what his feelings are as the match approaches and how he lives with the blue white red carbon mask which was delivered to him on Thursday in Leipzig. For the rest, everything is a question of relationship to pain.
A tough guy when the game is worth it
So, Mbappé, a cozy little man, the Kingsley Coman version, who howls like a werewolf at the slightest blow received in training, or a tough guy, the Quebec lumberjack version? Based on his injury history in recent years, we would tend to answer “B, answer B”. Moonwalk on the arrow of time:
March 2018, round of 16 second leg of C1: After a blow against OM awakened an old sprained ankle at home, the boy still chose to hold his place against Real. If he had been conspicuous by his absence and Paris had jumped, Mbappé had managed to grit his teeth to be faithful to the post.
August 2022, Final 8, Lisbon: After the butchering of Loïc Perrin, aka Professor Strauss in H, in the Coupe de France final against Saint-Etienne, the captain of the Blues had thwarted the predictions of the PSG medical staff, who then announced a minimum of three weeks to treat his “sprain ankle with external ligament injury. However, sixteen days later, he was happily frolicking on the pitch against Atalanta Bergamo.
The post he put on Twitter immediately – “You don’t talk to me about pain”, smiley bar of laughter – said a lot about the mentality of Mbappé, who therefore often seems to opt for risk-taking and political politics. ostrich towards pain when it comes to playing an important match.
“Without risks, there are no victories”
On Wednesday evening, he sent more or less the same message by writing, like a Pirelli advertiser, that “without risks, there are no victories”. To understand a little better what having a broken nose entails, we called on a nose filler specialist, boxer Sofiane Oumiah.
“ “I have already experienced this twice, notably in 2015 before the Games. Nose fracture during training. And two days later my trainer put a helmet on me and off we went again! At the time it hurts a little, obviously, but afterwards it’s honestly not crazy. Once it’s bad, it’s bad, you can hardly do worse. Unless of course you take a direct hit from behind. There, the pain comes back, but times a thousand. » »
Except that football is not boxing and we don’t have to take a punch in the face every four mornings. There is definitely a way to avoid risky situations as long as you put a little effort into it. By refusing to engage in aerial duels, for example. Something that has never been Mbappé’s strong point or primary quality in any case, despite improvement in recent years.
Remember the commotion of 2016
Then there remains the question of apprehension, that little mental reminder that comes back to haunt you on the pitch at the worst times. This is what happened to him when he made his professional debut with Monaco, after a concussion that occurred during the 2016-2017 season following a collision with Guingamp defender Christophe Kerbrat.
“He had decided to stop playing with his head for a long time and it was only in matches where he used it,” Loïc Badiashile recently remembered in The Team. In training, he really never used it. He didn’t jump and if he could avoid an aerial duel, he avoided it. In competition, he tried to go there but nothing more. »
“You may have a little apprehension because you are never safe from getting hit again,” Oumiah agrees. But football is first played with the feet and I think that Mbappé will not want to miss such a meeting. It’s the Euro, it’s Holland, it’s not a match like any other so for me he has to try, even if it means being replaced if it goes badly. Because the worst thing about it is leaving room for regrets. »
The latest whispers around the France team suggested that the player was also of this opinion. And after some (legitimate) hesitation on the part of the medical staff and Didier Deschamps, it now seems that everyone is on the same wavelength. Hallelujah my ancestors! France breathes better and Kylian too, a priori.