France captain Kylian Mbappe took part in training on Wednesday afternoon, two days after breaking his nose in his country’s European Championship opener.
Mbappe fractured his nose in an aerial collision with Austria defender Kevin Danso and was subsequently replaced in the closing stages of the 2-1 victory over Austria.
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The 25-year-old — who will complete his move from Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid following the end of Euro 2024 — remains a doubt for France’s Group D game against the Netherlands on Friday.
Mbappe, who has scored 47 goals in 80 appearances for his country, joined Wednesday’s training session with a large bandage on his nose but without any kind of protective mask.
According to French news outlet AFP, he completed some light running before ending the session with individual shooting practice.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mbappe teased the prospect of him taking part in France’s second game of the group stage with a cryptic message on social message.
“Without risks, there are no victories,” he wrote on Instagram, sparking speculation he is ready to make himself available for Friday’s game in Leipzig.
“I met him this morning, he was a little better,” said Arsenal and France defender William Saliba when asked about the condition of his captain. “He had gone to do other tests. I don’t know more. But when I saw him this morning, he was better.”
The French Football Federation (FFP) have confirmed the striker will wear a protective mask for future games in the tournament to “enable him to return to competition after a period of treatment”.
In his post-match news conference on Monday, France head coach Didier Deschamps said Mbappe was “not doing well” and added “his nose got badly hit”.
“We need to check it out but it seems quite complicated, which is really very unfortunate for us. He didn’t get off lightly,” he said.
He added: “I’m not going to go into hypothesis but the French team with Kylian will always be stronger with him.
“If the news doesn’t go along these lines then we will have to fight without him.”
After the Netherlands, France take on Poland in their final group-stage game.
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Kylian Mbappe's broken nose and what it's like playing football in a mask
(Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)