Nearly there now
Just another few days of transfer gossip and Love Island to wade through and it’s time for the greatest show on earth.
With good reason, France are being tipped as one of the favourites to win the World Cup. Didier Deschamps’ squad is brimming with talent, its strength in depth evident from some of the names who didn’t make the final cut for Russia – including Manchester United’s Anthony Martial and Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal.
The French squad arrived in Russia on Monday, with their first game taking place against Australia next Saturday. Ahead of it, Kylian Mbappe appears to have picked up a training ground injury.
According to Eurosport journalist Martin Mosnier, Mbappe was forced to leave training on Tuesday after picking up an injury to his left ankle.
Touché à la cheville gauche, Kylian Mbappé vient de quitter l’entraînement collectif. #CM2018
— Martin Mosnier (@Martin_Mosnier) June 12, 2018
At this stage, it’s unclear how serious the injury to the Paris Saint-Germain striker is, but will clearly be a cause for concern for Deschamps as he makes his final preparations for his team’s opening game of the tournament.
19-year-old Mbappe was not part of the French senior squad when they made it to the final of Euro 2016. The striker exploded on to the scene the following season, helping to fire AS Monaco to the Ligue 1 title. A move to Paris Saint-Germain followed during last summer, with PSG agreeing a loan deal with a view to making the move permanent.
Kylian Mbappé injured in training today. pic.twitter.com/zXpwo7pNTb
— Jay (@mjstripling) June 12, 2018
After the Australia game, France will also face Peru and Denmark in their group before hopefully booking their places in the tournament’s knockout stages.
Along with Martial and Lacazette, Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman and PSG’s Adrien Rabiot were initially placed on a stand-by list by Deschamps following the announcement of his 23-man squad for the tournament. Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma, who spent last season on loan at Stoke City, was also named on the reserve list.
