Kylian Mbappé has been left out of Didier Deschamps’ France squad for the upcoming Nations League fixtures against Israel and Belgium to aid his recovery from a thigh injury.
Mbappé suffered the knock in Real Madrid’s 3-2 LaLiga win over Alavés on Sept. 24 and was initially expected to miss three weeks, though he was fit enough to come off the bench in his club’s shock 1-0 defeat away at Lille in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Despite that ahead-of-schedule return, Deschamps has chosen to leave his captain out to allow him to maximise recovery time while staying in Madrid.
“I spoke with Kylian about the situation, which is still uncertain after coming on as a substitute on Wednesday. He has a match on Saturday and there are questions,” Deschamps said in a news conference after the squad announcement.
“He has a problem which is not serious but he needs treatment to recover properly. I am not here to take risks. That is why Kylian is not here.”
Deschamps also raised concerns over Mbappé’s frame of mind during the last international break in September, where France were beaten by Italy before winning against Belgium.
“I have no doubt about Kylian’s commitment but he was not in the best condition during the last gathering,” the head coach said.
