A masked Kylian Mbappe played and scored in an hour-long behind-closed-doors friendly on Saturday as he targets a return to action at Euro 2024 after breaking his nose in France’s opening group game.
The Real Madrid striker featured against the German club Paderborn’s Under-21s in a French side comprised of those who played cameo roles or were unused substitutes against the Netherlands the previous night.
Wearing a black mask, Mbappe scored twice and supplied two assists, playing each of the game’s 30-minute halves.
Both teams had been instructed to make the game low contact to avoid any player sustaining injury, with France’s captain starting on the left of the attack alongside Olivier Giroud.
While providing a run out for the fringe members of Didier Deschamps’ squad, the game was also designed to give Mbappe a chance to try out and get used to the mask, which he is expected to wear when he returns to action at the tournament.
MBAPPÉ 🥷 pic.twitter.com/k9wOpYVvK5
— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) June 21, 2024
France sit second in Group D after Friday’s goalless draw in Leipzig with no decision made as yet whether their talismanic striker will return for their final fixture in the section – against Poland in Dortmund on Tuesday.
Mbappe broke his nose after inadvertently connecting with the Austria defender Kevin Danso’s shoulder during France’s 1-0 victory in Dusseldorf last week. The nose was reset by the team’s medical staff in the changing room immediately after the game, with subsequent x-rays undertaken at a local hospital confirming the striker did not require surgery for now.
Despite suggestions in the build-up that he was making progress and might play some part, the forward was an unused substitute against the Dutch.
“I wasn’t bluffing at all with Kylian,” said Deschamps when asked about Mbappe after the game. “If it had been a decisive match, I maybe would have thought twice. There’s a risk, and every day we’re getting closer. It was wiser to keep him on the bench.”
The French are due to undertaken one more light training session at their base before departing for Dortmund on Monday, where they will train at the stadium on the eve of the game.
(Clive Mason/Getty Images)
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