Cyrille de la Morinerie // Photo credit: FRANCK FIFE / AFP
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11:20 a.m., June 18, 2024
During the meeting between France and Austria, the captain of the French team Kylian Mbappé was injured in the face. The latter had a broken nose. And if the Blues won not without difficulty, all eyes were on the situation around the young 25-year-old Frenchman. Story of a chaotic evening.
This is the image of the evening. Kylian Mbappé, his face hidden by a black surgical mask, leaves the stadium by ambulance. It’s 11:30 p.m. The captain of the Blues is heading to the University Hospital of Düsseldorf to undergo examinations. Didier Deschamps, looking somber, then went to a press conference and did not hide his concern from the journalists present.
“He has a nose that is damaged, that’s for sure. We have to see now (his condition, editor’s note) but it seems complicated. This is obviously the black point of this evening for us,” he declared in front of journalists. The Blues will wait in their bus until 12:40 a.m. for a possible return of Kylian Mbappé from the hospital, before finally leaving the stadium without him. For his part, the president of the federation, Philippe Diallo, will give relatively reassuring news a few minutes later: “Kylian Mbappé does have a broken nose, but it should not be operated on.” The captain finally returned to the Blues base camp during the night.
A quick return to the field?
The striker could return to the field very quickly, perhaps even as early as Friday against the Netherlands, with a protective mask. On social networks, for his first reaction the 25-year-old launched: “Any ideas for a mask?” Enough to ward off the specter of a package from Kylian Mbappé during the Euro.