Mbappé to leave France camp after injury while scoring in Zidane’s debut

Kylian Mbappé will leave the France squad after suffering an injury while scoring the winning goal for France in a 1-0 victory over Türkiye in the Nations League on Friday, casting a shadow over Zinedine Zidane’s debut as coach.

Mbappé rifled in a low shot in the 55th minute after being set up by Michael Olise to secure the decisive lead.

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However, moments after netting his France record-extending 67th goal, the Real Madrid star sat on the turf, grimacing as he rubbed his left knee.

He appeared to suffer the injury on his own, with no opponent nearby or forced challenge involved, feeling the pain immediately after his shot. Though he was initially treated and returned to the pitch, he quickly went down again and had to be substituted.

“No, it’s not good. It’s not good, unfortunately,” Zidane told French television. “He will have to go back. We will not take risks, he has extended his knee when he took the shot. It’s not very encouraging.”

The French Football Federation confirmed that Mbappé “suffered a tendon injury and will miss the rest of the camp.”

Zidane sent Désiré Doué to the pitch to replace Mbappé, who was able to walk off the field under his own power.

For his first starting lineup, Zidane deployed Mbappé on the left wing, with Olise on the opposite flank and Ousmane Dembélé joining Rayan Cherki to round out a potent French attacking quartet.

A scrappy opening saw lots of botched passes from both sides, although the bumpy playing surface at Kocaeli Stadiuma stadium in İzmit was a factor.

Near the end of the first half, Olise’s dipping shot forced a fine save from Uğurcan Çakır and midfielder Adrien Rabiot scooped the ball over following fine work from Cherki and Dembélé.

France goalkeeper Mike Maignan matched Çakır’s save with a stunning one-handed stop from İsmail Yüksek’s downward header. Çakır was then sent off in the 87th for blocking Bradley Barcola‘s shot with his arm when he was outside the area.

“We are really happy with this victory after just three or four training sessions. It bodes well for us,” Zidane said.

“The message was simply to enjoy ourselves, to be together, to make the effort as a team, and that’s what we did,” he added. “If there’s one specific thing I take away from this match, it’s the balance we maintained every time there was a loss of possession. That was very important for us.”

France have three further Nations League matches in this international window, with two matches against Belgium sandwiching a clash with Italy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.