Kylian Mbappe is “a little better” but the France captain’s chances of playing against the Netherlands at Uefa Euro 2024 on Friday remain “uncertain”, team-mate Adrien Rabiot has said.
Real Madrid striker Mbappe, who has scored 47 goals in 80 international appearances, suffered a broken nose during Les Bleus’ opening 1-0 win against Austria on Monday and will wear a protective mask when he returns to action.
“When I met him this morning, he was a little better,” midfielder Rabiot said on Wednesday, via L’Equipe. “He went to do other tests, I don’t know more.
“But the good news is that when I saw him he was better. I understand that Kylian’s [availability is] uncertain and he is not out yet.”
𝟖𝟎 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 ⭐️📺
At 25 years of age, our captain @KMbappe earns his 8⃣0⃣th cap for Les Bleus tonight 💙#AUSFRA | #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/nX9jP3TTvp
— French Team ⭐⭐ (@FrenchTeam) June 17, 2024
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Mbappe Euro 2024 return
Rabiot added that he had taken encouragement from Juventus team-mate Wojciech Szczesny’s swift return after the goalkeeper broke his nose during a game against Torino in April.
“He was operated on the next day or two days later and he was available for the following match,” said the 29-year-old.
“The question is, did they take risks? [But] that’s why when I learned about Kylian, I told myself it wasn’t too serious.”
At seventh on Fifa’s list, the Netherlands, who came from behind to beat Poland 2-1 on Sunday, are the highest-ranked opponents France will face during the group stage.
Mbappe injury ‘hard blow’
Mbappe is yet to score at a Euro but was the top scorer at the 2022 Fifa World Cup, finding the net eight times alongside two assists.
“It’s a hard blow,” Rabiot acknowledged of the prospect of Mbappe missing out. “Our captain is a very important player, a leader.
“This will weigh particularly on opposing teams [in terms of] their way of preparing for matches. But we have an exceptional group, given the guys we have on the bench. We have the means to replace Kylian. It would be a hard blow but I have total confidence in our guys.”
Veteran Olivier Giroud and one of Mbappe’s team-mates at former club Paris St-Germain, Randal Kolo Muani, would be among Didier Deschamps’ options to replace the 25-year-old in attack.
France’s final group-stage match is against Poland on June 25.
