Kylian Mbappé had seen his preparation disrupted by back and knee problems. But this Wednesday evening, it is the broken nose of the captain of the Blues which is worrying, in much greater proportions than during his previous problems. The French team got off to a good start in its Euro by beating Austria in Düsseldorf (1-0), but it may have lost its best player for several matches.
The neo-Madrilenian, victim of an involuntary headbutt from Lens defender Kevin Danso in an aerial duel (85th), had to leave his partners, his face bleeding, and his nasal septum visibly deviated.
“Apparently his nose is not good at all,” reacted Didier Deschamps on TF1, after the final whistle. It’s the black point of this evening even if it’s only a nose. Obviously, it’s very annoying for us. » A little later, on the same channel, the coach mentioned “a very damaged nose”. “I hope everything goes well, it’s complicated to be very precise this evening,” he continued. The Team evokes an operation in the night, at the Düsseldorf hospital.
The Blues must play again on Friday against the Netherlands, then finish the group stage against Poland on Tuesday June 25. While waiting for additional information, the participation of the new Madrilenian seems very hypothetical for these two meetings.
A new Antoine Dupont-style soap opera?
Questioned on the L’Equipe channel, the former doctor of the France team Fabrice Bryand, elaborated: “A surgical procedure would be necessary. For you and me, it would be a matter of several weeks. If the gesture is made this evening, it will take time for it to heal. In the next 10 to 15 days, it will be complicated. »
With two matches coming in one week, “DD” and the blue people may be worried. And after ? A possible round of 16 will take place between June 30 and July 2, i.e. within the limits of the “critical” fortnight mentioned by Dr Bryand.
Will we have to wait for a hypothetical quarter-final, on July 5 or 6, to see Mbappé again? A half, July 9 or 10? Or even (while we’re at it) the final, on July 14? This series already resembles that of the maxillo-zygomatic fracture suffered by Antoine Dupont, captain and soul of the XV of France, during the last Rugby World Cup.