Kylian Mbappe suffered a huge injury scare. (Image: Getty)
Kylian Mbappe has given France a huge injury scare after suffering a suspected broken nose against Austria. With his side leading 1-0 in the closing stages, Mbappe made heavy contact with the shoulder of Kevin Danso after the striker had headed the ball.
The 25-year-old immediately went down holding his face, and when he did get to his feet, the blood gushed down onto his stained white French shirt.
He was led down the tunnel by medical staff as he continued to bury his head in his hands.
Farcical scenes followed, with Olivier Giroud immediately readied to come on by Didier Deschamps. But France were denied making the substitution straight away, leaving Real Madrid's new signing to take matters into his own hands.
He ran back onto the pitch and went to the ground, forcing the officials to stop the action. Referee Jesus Gil Manzano wasn't about to show sympathy, booking the player for his actions.
The incident represents a major scare for Deschamps and French fans. And the prospect of France's most pivotal player wearing a mask for the remainder of Euro 2024 has already been mooted by BBC pundits after the match.
Mbappe went down after clashing with Kevin Danso. (Image: Getty)
Dechamps admitted things didn't look good for his key man. Speaking to TF1 for French TV, he implied the initial feedback from team doctors had been concerning.
"Apparently the nose is not good at all," he said. "So we’ll see. It’s obviously the negative point of the evening. Even if it’s just his nose it’s annoying for us."
The injury to their captain overshadowed the French win, with Mbappe pivotal to the game's only goal. He showed lightning pace to leave Austria defender Phillipp Mwene behind him in the first half, before his cross was diverted into the net by Leeds United centre-back Max Wober.
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But his wait for a first goal in a European Championships continues after a glaring miss after the interval. Mbappe went through on goal after racing past Wober but, with the goal at his mercy, contrived to curl his shot wide.
And overall, it was an unconvincing display from the 2022 World Cup finalists. Before the own goal, Christoph Baumgartner had missed a golden opportunity to give Austria the lead, his close-range shot diverted wide by Mike Maignan.
