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French Football Federation president Philippe Diallo unsure if Kylian Mbappe can play with broken nose

A bloodied Kylian Mbappe holds his nose at Merkur Spiel-Arena
A bloodied Kylian Mbappe holds his nose at Merkur Spiel-Arena

France Football Federation president Philippe Diallo has insisted it is too early to say whether Kylian Mbappe would feature in the remainder of Euro 2024 after breaking his nose.

The new Real Madrid signing sustained the injury after colliding with opponent Kevin Danso's shoulder in the 1-0 victory over Austria.

Mbappe was taken to hospital in Dusseldorf but did not require surgery and has rejoined the squad for treatment, although his participation in Friday's game against the Netherlands remains in doubt.

Plans were being made for the 25-year-old to wear a protective mask but Diallo said France were still unsure of a timescale of his recovery.

"The first responses were quite positive as there is no surgery planned for the moment," Diallo told a press conference.

"Now it is too soon to know if he will be able to play for the remainder of the tournament, or to provide a schedule for his situation.

"Obviously there were some medical examinations performed on site to know more about Kylian Mbappe’s nose and they made some conclusions pretty quickly.

"They tried to reduce the aftermath of his fracture, for him to be able to remain in the tournament.

"As I said, there is no surgery planned for the moment and we are still waiting for things to evolve later in order to know more about the conditions of his participation in the remainder of the tournament."

France coach Didier Deschamps remains optimistic over Mbappe's recovery, but accepts he will need surgery at some point.

"There will still be exams tomorrow to make sure we see how things evolve," Deschamps said in a video interview with the France Football Federation posted on social media.

"The medical staff did what was necessary to reduce it as much as possible. Even if it will not be immediately, he will have to undergo surgery.

"Already this morning he was a little better, so we will see that and monitor it closely every day."

Austria's Danso sent a message of sympathy to Mbappe.

"I wish him a good recovery and I hope he can quickly get back on the pitch," Danso said on X.

"To French supporters: I am sorry that Kylian Mbappe was injured from our duel," added Danso, whose back was turned when Mbappe's face struck his shoulder.

Mbappe also engaged in social media banter with France rugby skipper Antoine Dupont, asking him for advice on playing with a mask.

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 Mbappe’s nasal septum fracture - but the scrumhalf was back training within a fortnight and returned to play in the World Cup quarter-final.

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?," Mbappe tweeted Dupont.

"Private message me for a promo code. I have some solutions. Above all, good luck," Dupont replied.

Mbappe’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 tomorrow.

Watch every game from Euro 2024 on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player as well as highlights and goals as they happen on RTÉ Sport digital platforms