France's Euro 2024 preparations rocked by Kylian Mbappe absence
Kylian Mbappe missed France's open training session on Thursday as doubts over his fitness heading into Euro 2024 persist.
Mbappe suffered a knock during France's 3-0 win over Luxembourg earlier this month and was restricted to a brief cameo off the bench last time out against Canada, after which manager Didier Deschamps confessed Mbappe was dealing with "significant bruising" on his knee.
With many fans worrying about his fitness ahead of France's Euro 2024 opener against Austria on Monday, news that Mbappe had not been spotted in Thursday's public training session only added to the concern.
According to L'Equipe, no formal reason was given for Mbappe's absence, with insiders suggesting the soon-to-be Real Madrid star was simply kept away from any potential further damage.
The France camp has been hit with a virus recently which has struck down a number of players. Winger Kingsley Coman also missed Thursday's session because of the bug, while Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate did not complete training after showing symptoms.
Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni also left the session early, although this is believed to be part of his recovery regime after a foot injury forced him to miss the Champions League final and even had his involvement in this tournament in doubt.
Euro 2024 will be Mbappe's first international tournament as France captain and the 25-year-old admitted he is still working to get to grips with his new-found responsibility.
"What do I expect from myself? Help my team," he told Ouest-France. "I think I'm still learning my role as captain. Honestly, it's tough being such a high-profile captain. I take up a lot of space.
"I try to give as much light as possible to others, so that everyone has their space, because I will not win alone.
"I want to be happy, too. Let the group be happy. And we win, of course. That's why we play. With France, I won the Nations League and the World Cup. I only have the Euro left. The last edition was difficult, so winning this one would give me immense pleasure."
