Mbappe injury blow mars France win

DUSSELDORF, Germany — Kylian Mbappe's facial injury in France's 1-0 win against Austria on Monday has cast doubt on whether he will continue to play any further part at the European Championship.

An aerial head-on-shoulder collision with Austria's Kevin Danso late in the Group D game at Dusseldorf Arena left Mbappe curled on the field with his nose bloodied and swollen.

"I don't have the elements in my hands," France coach Didier Deschamps said. "He didn't get off lightly. It is still to be seen. At this stage I cannot give the answer (if he will be ruled out)."

Mbappe's obvious pain following the incident prompted Austria goalkeeper Patrick Pentz to signal for urgent medical assistance.

"We were worried seeing Kylian leave the field like that," France midfielder N'Golo Kante said.

"We still don't know what the situation is. We hope that it's not too severe and that he's back with us for the rest of the competition."

Mbappe is France's talisman, and his injury has likely struck fear into the hearts of France fans.

Later, he appeared to try to lighten the mood.

"Any ideas for masks?" he posted on X, likely acknowledging he will need some form of facial protection if he is to play on at the European Championship.

Widely believed to be France's best player, Mbappe has been touted as the heir to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as soccer's biggest global icon.

He will finally wear the famous white jersey of Real Madrid next season, after joining as a free agent from Paris Saint-Germain.

He tried to play on against Austria, but quickly fell to the ground again, holding his face and prompting whistles and jeers from the opposition fans, who seemed to believe he was time-wasting as France held on for the win.

He was then booked by referee Jesus Gil Manzano and replaced by Olivier Giroud.

"He's not doing well. He's with the medical staff. His nose got badly hit that's for sure," Deschamps said. "We need to check, but it seems quite complicated, which is really unfortunate for us tonight."

Mbappe produced a mixed performance before the injury, but still showed his importance to France's hopes of winning a record-equaling third European Championship.

It was his moment of inspiration that led to Maximilian Wober scoring an own goal in the 38th minute, handing Deschamps his 100th win as France coach.

With a flash of close-ball control, Mbappe beat Phillipp Mwene in the box and crossed in search of a teammate. In Wober's desperation to cut out the danger, he inadvertently diverted the ball into his own net.

Mbappe was then guilty of a remarkable miss 10 minutes into the second half, failing to hit the target from close range with only the keeper to beat.

Bursting through on goal, he was too fast for Wober, and had time to steady himself in the box before picking his spot. With France fans behind the goal just waiting for the net to bulge, Mbappe's shot instead curled past the post, much to the relief of the Austrians.

He has yet to score in the European Championship, having failed to register a single goal at the last Euros three years ago.

Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation, later confirmed to reporters in Dusseldorf that Mbappe would at least "not require an operation".

France's next game is against the Netherlands in Leipzig on Friday, but Deschamps must wait to find out if his star player can feature.

Deschamps, however, does not want to get drawn into hypothesis.

"The French team with Kylian will always be stronger.

"If the news doesn't go along these lines, then we'll have to fight without him.

"But, Kylian is Kylian, and any team with him in the squad is obviously a lot stronger."

Deschamps was at least pleased with the result, as France kicked off with a victory in its quest to win a first European Championship title since 2000.

"It is good to start with a victory against such opponents," he said.

"We could, and should, have done better with certain opportunities. But, overall, it was positive, and we showed we were up for the fight as well.

"That is important. We have quality and talent, but we need to remain solid as well."

Agencies