Zinedine Zidane’s debut win as head coach of France was bitter sweet as team captain Kylian Mbappe was forced out of France’s UEFA Nations League game against Turkiye.
Real Madrid striker Mbappe scored in France’s 1-0 win away from home to get Zidane’s national team head coaching campaign off to a winning start.
However, after smashing the ball into the net, Mbappe was pictured rubbing his knee while seated on the turf. He received medical attention and returned to the game but was substituted after going down again.
The French Football Federation confirmed that Mbappe had picked up a tendon injury and “will miss the rest of the camp”.
This means Mbappe won’t feature in France’s remaining Nations League games against Belgium twice and Italy. The Belgians beat Italy 2-0 in their matchup.
Addressing the injury to French Television, Zidane shared that France wasn’t prepared to take any chances by stating,
“It’s not good, unfortunately. He will have to go back [to his club]. We will not take risks, he has extended his knee when he took the shot. It’s not very encouraging.”
