France will walk out at San Siro on Thursday night without their captain. Kylian Mbappe has been ruled out of the Nations League clash with Italy because of hamstring discomfort, and a squad already stretched thin has lost the one player it could least afford to lose.
Mbappe sat out training on Wednesday, and head coach Zinedine Zidane confirmed afterwards that his captain would play no part in Milan. Reuters reported Zidane saying: "He will be out tomorrow. He felt a slight pain and, as usual, we won't take any risks. Losing players is regrettable, but it's part of the game. I hope it's nothing serious and that we'll have him back on Sunday."
USA TODAY added the human detail from the same press conference: "He's not happy. He would have liked to play tomorrow. When you feel something, you have to take zero risk because the season is long." The hope inside the France camp is that the problem is minor enough for Mbappe to return when France host Turkey in Bordeaux on Sunday.
Four missed games out of five under Zidane
This is becoming a pattern neither man can ignore. Mbappe scored the winner against Turkey on September 25, then came off with a left-knee problem and missed France's next three matches — including last month's 1-1 draw with Italy. Thursday will be the fourth game out of Zidane's first five in charge that his captain has missed, and the one appearance he did make ended early through injury.
For Real Madrid, the timing cuts both ways. Mbappe was named La Liga's Player of the Month for October, and Madrid fans will be relieved France are refusing to gamble on him — but a hamstring complaint, however slight, follows a knee injury in the same autumn, and the club will want its own assessment before club football resumes later this month. Madrid have already seen one France withdrawal this week, after Tchouameni was sent home from the same camp with adductor discomfort.
A France squad running out of forwards
Mbappe is the headline absence, but he is far from the only one. Marcus Thuram, Aurelien Tchouameni and Pierre Kalulu were all named in the squad and then withdrew injured, while William Saliba, Maxence Lacroix, Manu Kone, Ousmane Dembele and Maghnes Akliouche were not called up at all because of injury. Paris Saint-Germain youngster Senny Mayulu has been given a first senior call-up after being at Clairefontaine with the Under-21s, and Bournemouth forward Eli Junior Kroupi has come in for Thuram.
Italy coach Roberto Mancini could not resist a smile when he was asked about Mbappe's absence, joking that he would suggest the forward does not risk it — not least with Champions League football coming up for Real Madrid — before adding that France have so many forwards it is hard to choose between them. On paper he has a point. On current form, with Mbappe having only recently passed 100 Champions League goal involvements for Madrid, it is harder to believe.
What Thursday now decides
The stakes have not changed, only France's margin for error. France top their Nations League group with three wins and a draw from four games, and a win at San Siro would send them into the quarter-finals in March. Italy sit three points behind France and one ahead of Belgium, whom they face on Sunday, so a home win would blow the group wide open before the final round.
For Zidane, the bigger question waits in Bordeaux. If Mbappe is fit for Turkey, this becomes a footnote — a sensible precaution in a long season. If he is not, France will have had their captain available for barely one game in five, and Madrid will start asking harder questions about how their most valuable player is being managed between club and country.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Zero risk is the right call, and Zidane should be applauded for making it when a quarter-final place is on the line — but a captain who keeps breaking down in national colours is a problem no press-conference quote can hide. France have the depth to beat Italy without him. What they do not have is a replacement for what he does to an opposition's game plan before a ball is even kicked.
Can France get the win at San Siro without their captain, or does Italy's chance start the moment Mbappe's name is missing from the teamsheet? Tell us how you see it below.
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