Let’s hope he can recover in time.
With good reason, France have been tipped as one of the favourites to win the World Cup. Didier Deschamps’ squad is brimming with talent, its strength in depth evident from some of the names who didn’t make the final cut for Russia – including Manchester United’s Anthony Martial and Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal.
The French squad arrived in Russia on Monday, with their first game taking place against Australia on Saturday. Ahead of it, Kylian Mbappe appears to have picked up a training ground injury.
According to journalists, Mbappe was forced to leave training on Tuesday after picking up a knock to his left ankle after a challenge by Adil Rami.
Kylian Mbappé a été touché dans un contact avec Adil Rami https://t.co/ebzRzl7sua pic.twitter.com/A8tPqrNWwO
— L'ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) June 12, 2018
PSG & France’s Kylian Mbappe forced out of les Bleus’ open training with a knock after a challenge from Marseille’s Adil Rami. #EDF #LesBleus #WC2018 https://t.co/umUknG7dm0
— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) June 12, 2018
Touché à la cheville gauche, Kylian Mbappé vient de quitter l’entraînement collectif. #CM2018
— Martin Mosnier (@Martin_Mosnier) June 12, 2018
J'espère qu'il y a rien de grave pour Mbappe… pic.twitter.com/9fHk1y0oN5
— Abdou ✌️😁 (@Abdoulaye_Sarr) June 12, 2018
At this stage, it’s unclear how serious the injury is, but it will clearly be a cause for concern for Deschamps as he makes his final preparations for his team’s opening game of the tournament.
19-year-old Mbappe was not part of the French senior squad when they made it to the final of Euro 2016. The forward exploded on to the scene the following season, helping to fire AS Monaco to the Ligue 1 title. A move to Paris Saint-Germain followed during last summer, with PSG agreeing on a loan deal with a view to making the move permanent.
After the Australia game, France will also face Peru and Denmark in their group. Along with Martial and Lacazette, Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman was initially placed on a stand-by list by Deschamps following the announcement of his 23-man squad for the tournament.
