France’s Kylian Mbappe.
| Photo Credit: AP
France striker Kylian Mbappé is feeling a “bit better,” teammate William Saliba said on June 19, ahead of undergoing more tests on a facial injury sustained in the team’s opening game of the European Championship.
Mbappé broke his nose in an aerial collision during the 1-0 win against Austria on June 16 and will have to wear a face mask if he plays on at the tournament.
France’s next match is against the Netherlands on June 21 and the team has yet to officially confirm whether Mbappé is available.
“I saw him this morning, he was a bit better,” Saliba said through a translator at a news conference in Paderborn. “I think he was off to do more tests. I don’t know anything more.
“But when I saw him this morning he was a bit better.”
Mbappé does not require immediate surgery, the French soccer federation has said.
Speaking after Saliba, France midfielder Adrien Rabiot said he predicted Mbappé to return soon and compared the injury to one suffered by Rabiot’s teammate at Juventus, goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Szczesny broke his nose against Torino in April, underwent surgery and was back the following week.
“A fractured nose isn’t the end of the world,” Rabiot said through a translator, “and Kylian should be with us pretty soon.”
