An open session, minus the star
The autograph pens were ready. The phones were out. Plenty of fans made the trip to Clairefontaine on Tuesday for one reason, and Kylian Mbappé wasn’t there to see them.
The France captain has come down with the flu and sat out the afternoon session, which started at 5.30pm. Bad timing. It was an open day for supporters and media, with an autograph and photo session lined up from 6.45pm. According to Foot Mercato, the Real Madrid forward stayed away from the pitch.
No timeline has been given. Nothing points to a long lay-off so far. The calendar, though, doesn’t leave much room.
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Three days until Turkey
Les Bleus reported for duty on Monday. Their Nations League campaign opens away to Turkey on Friday, September 25, at 8.45pm. That night also marks Zinedine Zidane’s first competitive game as France head coach.
Zidane has already handed Mbappé the armband. Starting without his main attacking threat would hurt. The medical staff have three days to get him right.
A week that was already noisy
It’s been a hectic few days for the Madrid man. His remarks about the Ballon d’Or went down coldly with Ousmane Dembélé. Le Parisien reports that Mbappé picked up the phone to the PSG winger to smooth things over, with Marcus Thuram acting as go-between in a WhatsApp group with all three players.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mbappé said there were “no tensions”. Whether he’ll be fit enough to lead the side out on Friday is a different question.
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