Zinedine Zidane sounded the alarm on Kylian Mbappe‘s fitness after France’s captain was forced off with a knee injury during Friday’s 1-0 win over Turkiye, the new coach’s first match in charge of Les Bleus. “It’s not looking good and we will not take any risks,” Zidane said when asked about the severity of the issue, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Mbappe had given France the lead in the 54th minute, finishing off a pass from Michael Olise, but the celebration quickly turned to concern as he stayed down clutching his left knee. He tried to play on but was clearly compromised, and Zidane opted to withdraw him in the 59th minute rather than risk further damage, sending on Desire Doue in his place.
Zidane‘s blunt assessment leaves little doubt that France are bracing for bad news once Mbappe undergoes medical tests, with the captain leaving the camp and set to travel back to Madrid for further evaluation.
The timing could hardly be worse for Zidane, who is already navigating a squad thinned out by Ibrahima Konate’s training injury and the precautionary omissions of Aurelien Tchouameni and Marcus Thuram.
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