Mbappe’s injury woe played down
A shoulder injury to Kylian Mbappe overshadowed France's 1-0 friendly win over Uruguay at the Stade de France yesterday morning (Singapore time) as Didier Deschamps' world champions ended the year on a high note.
Mbappe had to be replaced in the first half after a nasty fall and when asked if he could give "reassuring news" about Mbappe in his press conference, France coach Deschamps said: "Not necessarily reassuring, but not worrying either.
"He had some shoulder pain after his fall and he has to have tests tomorrow morning, but there is no serious concern."
After the disappointment of seeing Holland pip them to a place at the Nations League Finals on Monday, Olivier Giroud's 52nd-minute penalty gave France victory in a repeat of the two teams' World Cup quarter-final meeting in Russia.
"It was important to finish on a positive note, after the last defeat by Holland saw us miss out on the (Nations League) semi-finals," Deschamps told M6.
Roared on by a large crowd in Paris, France opened up the Uruguay defence in only the fourth minute, but Giroud fired a first-time shot wide of the near post with just goalkeeper Martin Campana to beat.
Mbappe should have put France ahead when he raced clean through on goal, only to mishit a chipped effort wide.
IN PAIN
The 19-year-old was left writhing on the ground in pain after a heavy touch saw him tackled by Campana, appearing to sustain a shoulder injury as he crashed to the turf.
Mbappe tried to play on, but he lasted only a matter of seconds before signalling to the bench that he could not continue and was replaced by Florian Thauvin.
"We're a little disappointed not to have qualified in the Nations League, but it's like that," Giroud said.
"We may have lost a game we shouldn't have, but we had the heart to react and we did it pretty well."
Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez defended his side's second successive 1-0 friendly loss, after they were defeated by Brazil in London last week.
"We have to understand against whom we came to play in Europe - Brazil and France," said Tabarez.
"The French were superior in the first 15 or 20 minutes but, after that, it was relatively balanced in the second half." - AFP
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