Kylian Mbappé to miss game with broken nose

Kylian Mbappé’s Euros got off to a rough start on Monday when he left the pitch in the closing moments of France’s 1-0 win over Austria after suffering a broken nose.

Searching for his first European Championship goal in his 80th appearance for Les Bleus, Mbappé rose for a header in Austria’s box in the game’s closing moments, only to collide with the shoulder of Austria’s Kevin Danso. The 25-year-old immediately went down to the turf bloody and bruised, with television cameras making it instantly apparent that his nose did not look like it was supposed to.

The Real Madrid forward returned to action only minutes later, but was shown a yellow card for sitting down on the pitch shortly after coming back on following treatment. His night ended when he was replaced by Olivier Giroud in the 90th minute.

“Any ideas for a mask?”

The French Football Federation confirmed on Tuesday that Mbappé’s nose was in fact broken (you don’t say?), but he will not require immediate surgery, which would rule him out for the competition. He will instead miss only France’s clash with the Netherlands tomorrow, despite reports indicating that the World Cup winner initially hoping he would be able to play.

“Even if there is not surgery immediately, he will have to do it after the tournament,” France coach Didier Deschamps said yesterday. “The medical staff have done what they needed to reduce it as much as possible. This morning he was a bit better, so we will see that and we will follow it closely each day."

Mbappé, who trained with the team yesterday, hinted on social media that he will don a mask when he returns to action.

Fans responded with plenty of options, urging Mbappé – who was jokingly referred to as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle “Donatello” when he initially joined PSG on loan in 2017, with Thiago Silva even buying him a mask – to pull off what could perhaps be the most iconic brand partnership of all time. 🐢 

Zoom out: France are tied with Netherlands at the top of Group D with three points, so there’s no rush in bringing Mbappé back. Pending the outcome of tomorrow’s match in Leipzig (France are still favored at +130), Mbappé is expected to make his return in the last group stage match against Poland on Tuesday.