Home/Soccer

via Reuters

via Reuters

It was quite an eventful night for France as they commenced their UEFA Euro 2024 campaign. Les Bleus clinched a narrow victory in Matchday 1 against their Group D rivals Austria. However, more than the scoreline being plain vanilla, Kylian Mbappe stole the spotlight after breaking his nose while in action. The aftermath sees questions being raised over the gravity of his injury following a concerning update from Didier Deschamps.

In the post-match interview with TF1, the French tactician didn’t sound content over Mbappe’s knock. He said, “Apparently the nose is not good at all. So we’ll see. It’s obviously the negative point of the evening. Even if it’s just his nose it’s annoying for us.” Additionally, further reports surfaced that the Los Blancos star would be required to undergo an injury. That’s not all, as various sources reported Mbappe might be required to undergo an operation.

Notably, the incident occurred around the 85th minute. While France was sitting comfortably with a lead thanks to a 38th-minute own-goal by Maximiliano Wober, an attempt to find a second resulted in Mbappe colliding with Austria’s Kevin Danso. The new Real Madrid star fell to the ground, clutching his nose. Even though there were only a few minutes remaining in the game, Mbappe had to be replaced by Olivier Giroud because of blood on his face.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Interestingly, a similar intense moment happened with Antoine Griezmann just after the second half commenced. The Atletico Madrid star got shoved by Max Wober, causing his head to hit the advertising hoardings. The attacker continued playing with a big bandage on his head. While there’s no major risk reported regarding Griezmann, will Kylian Mbappe play the next game against the Netherlands?

Kylian Mbappe will play against the Netherlands with a mask

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Interestingly, there is a sigh of relief in the latest update from renowned French journalist Julien Laurens. He claims that no surgery would be required after all. Instead, Kylian Mbappe, who was rushed to a hospital in Düsseldorf, was seen getting discharged around 1 am after receiving positive news and a diagnosis regarding his nose. In fact, the 25-year-old hopes to play against the Netherlands on Friday, possibly wearing a mask.

Yet, a final decision will be made just before the kick-off by Didier Deschamps and his coaching staff. Hysterically, after the match, Mbappe managed to make the event light-hearted after asking his fans to recommend the kinds of masks he could wear in the next match. Until he decides on that part, the winger shall focus on recovering from the injury blow as soon as possible.