LEIPZIG, Germany (Reuters) – France captain Kylian Mbappe should be available for their second European Championship group game against the Netherlands after breaking his nose in their opening 1-0 win over Austria, manager Didier Deschamps said on Thursday.
The striker was injured in a collision with Austria’s Kevin Danso, and the 25-year-old forward took to social media to ask for help in finding a protective mask so he could face the Dutch in Group D on Friday.
“Everything is going in the right direction after this major shock he had, with the consequences, of course,” Deschamps told reporters.
“Yesterday, as you could see, he was able to go out and do some activity. That will be the case tonight too.
“So it has evolved in the right direction to ensure that he can be available tomorrow.”
Mbappe tried on the specially made mask on Thursday.
“Kylian Mbappe will be wearing a mask yes, you don’t really need to know the details about this mask,” Deschamps said.
“I think you’ve got enough moles to find out where these masks come from anyway.”
The Netherlands also won their opening game, coming from behind to beat Poland 2-1.
(Additional reporting by Rohith Nair, editing by Ed Osmond)
