Clairefontaine has opened France’s Nations League camp with an unexpected concern around its captain. Kylian Mbappé has yet to take part in training since joining the squad on Monday, leaving his availability uncertain for Friday’s Group A opener against Turkey in Izmir.
The Real Madrid forward had initially been kept out of the first session after playing in the Madrid derby against Atlético the previous day, when only 12 members of Zinedine Zidane’s 23-man group trained. He was again absent from the following workout, however, with the French Football Federation confirming that he is suffering from a flu-like illness.
Mbappé is confined to bed and resting, although no expected recovery date has been given. France therefore face the prospect of beginning their campaign on the Aegean coast without their leading attacker and captain.
While Mbappé remained indoors, the other 22 players called up by Zidane met supporters before the open training session, signing autographs and posing for photographs at the national team’s base outside Paris.
The trip to Turkey starts a demanding run of four Nations League fixtures. France will travel to Brussels to meet Belgium on 28 September, then return to Saint-Denis for home matches against Italy on 2 October and Belgium again three days later. For now, the immediate question at Clairefontaine is whether Mbappé can recover in time to make the journey to Izmir.
