Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe admitted following France’s UEFA Nations League fixture against Sweden that he suffered a slight right ankle injury during the match.
Mbappe scored the lone goal of the contest as France’s prevailed with a 1-0 win over Sweden in the opening match of the Nations League group stage for both teams. The Frenchman was later forced to leave the fixture in the second half after taking a knock to his right ankle. French national team manager Didier Deschamps subbed him off as simply a precaution.
Fortunately for both the French national team and PSG, the slight injury is not serious. In his post-game comments (via L’Equipe), Mbappe downplayed the severity of the injury and also talked about his availability for the upcoming contest against Croatia.
“If he [Deschamps] wants me to play, I will play with great pleasure, otherwise I will stay on the bench,” Mbappe said. “It hurts a bit, I took a hit but it will get better in the next few days.”
Deschamps also provided further information (via L’Equipe) on Mbappe’s injury. He echoed the comments from the French forward in downplaying the injury.
“He took a nasty blow to his already sensitive ankle,” Deschamps said. “He continued but I didn’t take any risks either. Above all, you have to see how he feels the next day. We will see if he reacts tomorrow, I will discuss it with him for the match which awaits us Tuesday.”
This is not the first time this year that Mbappe has been on the wrong end of an ankle injury. He suffered a serious right ankle sprain during the Coupe de France final against AS Saint-Etienne in July. He wound up recovering just in time to feature in the UEFA Champions League knockout stage fixtures in August, but it took a while for the French forward to regain his rhythm on the pitch.
France will face Croatia in a Nations League group stage encounter on Tuesday. Mbappe currently remains a doubt to feature in the contest.
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