Kylian Mbappé missed France's second training session under new manager Zinédine Zidane on Tuesday. The team captain is suffering from a flu-like illness, raising doubts about his availability for Friday's Nations League opener away to Turkey.
"The second training session of Zinédine Zidane at the head of the France team, this Tuesday, will take place without Kylian Mbappé," L'Équipe reported. "The France captain (106 caps, 66 goals) is suffering from a flu-like syndrome." Mbappé, who joined the squad on Monday, remained in his room at the Clairefontaine castle and did not have lunch with the group, though he is not in quarantine.
The other twenty-two summoned players were present on the training pitches. They signed autographs and took pictures with supporters before beginning the session, which was open to the media. Zidane and his staff therefore worked without their star attacker, who is also the team's top scorer this season with 10 goals in 8 appearances. The manager must now assess his leader's fitness ahead of the trip.
Wednesday morning's session, which will be held behind closed doors, will be key in determining Mbappé's availability. The squad will then fly to Turkey on Thursday late morning, ahead of the Nations League campaign opener on Friday in Izmit. This match marks the official start of Zidane's tenure, with France currently top of their World Cup qualifying group on 9 points. The staff may opt for caution with their captain, which could see him start the match on the bench.
In that scenario, the French attack, which seemed to be taking shape with Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise alongside Mbappé, would be reshuffled. In midfield, the recent absence of Warren Zaïre-Emery makes Rayan Cherki a strong candidate to partner Manu Koné and Adrien Rabiot in a potential 4-3-3. The full list of players available for this first autumn camp, which also includes fixtures against Italy and Belgium, can be found on our squad page. The schedule for upcoming matches is available on our fixtures page.
Background and full detail: RMC Sport
