Ideas for a mask? France star Mbappé contacts rugby captain Dupont
Image: Lars Baron/Getty Images
Kylian Mbappé’s chances of playing for France against the Netherlands at the European Championship remain unclear, but if he does make it to the pitch in Leipzig, he will wear a protective mask after breaking his nose on Monday.
France’s captain suffered the fracture late in the Group D clash with Austria in Düsseldorf on Monday, after jumping for a header and colliding with the shoulder of defender Kevin Danso.
Mbappé was taken to hospital but the French federation said he did not require immediate surgery and will get a mask, prompting social media banter with France rugby skipper Antoine Dupont.
Dupont had surgery after fracturing a cheek bone in the early stages of last year’s Rugby World Cup in France — a more serious injury that Mbappé’s nasal septum fracture — but the scrumhalf was back training within a fortnight and returned to play in the World Cup quarterfinal.
He had a specially fitted mask made but in the end wore only a scrum cap in his return match.
“Any ideas for a mask?,” Mbappé posted on X on Tuesday.
Dupont replied on the football star's thread: “Private message me for a promo code. I have some solutions. Above all, good luck.”
Mbappé’s obvious replacement would be 37-year-old Olivier Giroud. He suffered an adductor injury in the Austria match, French media reported, but should resume training on Wednesday.
Reuters