Kylian Mbappé’s broken nose has darkened the horizon of the France team, which is crossing its fingers to find its number one asset as quickly as possible and is already wondering how to live without him for the immediate aftermath of Euro 2024.
The success, even narrow, against Austria (1-0), Monday in Düsseldorf, could have been considered a good starting point for the Blues in the continental tournament, but relief quickly gave way to anguish with the exit at the end of the match of the captain, his nose bloody after a collision with Kevin Danso.
Didier Deschamps made no mistake. While his player was undergoing examinations in hospital, the coach looked ahead to the future with a sentence full of meaning. “I have always said it, with Kylian, the France team is stronger. If the news is not good, we will fight without him. Kylian, it’s Kylian, in any team he’s on, the team is stronger. »
For the moment, the staff of the vice-world champions have not provided a length of unavailability concerning number 10, but the fear of a forfeit for the rest of the competition was quickly swept away by the president of the Federation French Philippe Diallo.
“No operation, it will be fine,” the leader told journalists as he left the Düsseldorf compound.
Race against time
The FFF then published a press release on the night of Monday to Tuesday to confirm the fracture of the attacker’s nose, indicating that he will have to wear protection.
“A mask will be made in such a way as to allow […] to consider resuming competition after a period dedicated to treatment,” explained the management.
The superstar herself used humor on social networks, asking her 14 million subscribers on X: “Any ideas for masks? » A sign that morale is not affected and that he intends to return to the Euro pitches as quickly as possible.
According to surgeon Jacques Saboye, member of the board of the French Association of Facial Surgeons, “the problem is ventilation”.
“An athlete who is used to breathing just through his nose, you close his nose, he will not last 90 minutes breathing through his mouth. In the next two, three days, I think they will do x-rays, see what is affected or not, if the nasal septum is displaced, to what extent the anatomical structures are damaged. Depending on this assessment, we can always decide whether to operate or not,” explains the specialist, interviewed by AFP.
A race against time is therefore underway and Deschamps will have to rack his brains to review as quickly as possible his offensive animation, the black point of the match against Austria. Even if the staff did not specify anything on this subject, it seems very complicated to see the third highest scorer in the history of the Blues (47 goals in 80 caps) on Friday in Leipzig against the Netherlands, for the shock of the group D.
Attack at half mast
Without Mbappé, France is particularly deprived in attack and it is not the performance of the offensive elements lined up on Monday which will reassure the coach. The only French goal, scored by Maximilian Wöber against his camp, also came from an inspiration from the future Madrilenian.
Ousmane Dembélé and Marcus Thuram were of rare technical indigence and Olivier Giroud, who replaced number 10, missed a huge opportunity. At almost 38 years old (September 30), can the person who will retire internationally at the end of the European Championship be a credible recourse, even in the short term? It’s far from obvious, especially since he left the match with a small inflammation in an adductor, according to those around him.
“I’m not thinking about myself at the moment,” reacted the center forward, who signed with Los Angeles FC. I think of him [Kylian Mbappé], to the team. Either way, we don’t know who will start for the next match. We just hope he recovers as quickly as possible. »
As at the 2002 World Cup with Zinedine Zidane’s thigh, the French team remains hanging on the condition of its leader’s nose.