France star Kylian Mbappe is expected to start the World Cup quarter-final against England, but ‘alarm bells would start ringing’ if the Paris Saint-Germain star does not return to full training in the coming days, according to injury expert Ben Dinnery.
Les Bleus are looking to defend their world title, having won the competition in 2018, but there are doubts over the fitness of one of their star men.
France injury news – Kylian Mbappe
According to MailOnline, Mbappe was not involved in France’s training session on Tuesday, as they prepared for their clash with England.
The report suggests the winger had complained of an injury going into the tournament, but his unavailability has been played down.
Mbappe is still having trouble with his ankle problem and, instead, was away from the majority of the squad doing recovery work in the gym.
The 23-year-old’s exclusion from the training session will have caught the eye of Gareth Southgate’s England side as well as Manchester United, who have made the PSG talisman a £150million target as they seek a Cristiano Ronaldo replacement.
Mbappe headed to Qatar having scored 19 goals and contributed a further five assists in 20 appearances since the campaign got underway.
Read more: England vs France: Date, Team News, Live Stream, How to watch, TV Channel and more
What has Ben Dinnery said about Mbappe?
Dinnery believes France boss Didier Deschamps and Les Bleus’ supporters will start to worry if Mbappe is not involved in any of the upcoming training sessions ahead of Saturday’s encounter with England.
However, the injury news journalist is still confident that the wide-man will be included in his country’s starting line-up.
Dinnery told GIVEMESPORT: “We need to be seeing him back on the training pitches close to matchday because, if he isn’t, the alarm bells would start ringing for the French.
“But I don’t think it’s anything too serious and I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t play at the weekend. You could knock me over with a feather if he doesn’t play against England.”
How has Mbappe performed at the World Cup?
Mbappe has been in tremendous form since the World Cup got underway, with Sofascore statistics showing he has been averaging a goal every 59 minutes.
He has found the back of the net five times in just four appearances and has been among the standout performers in Qatar.
In fact, Mbappe has been handed an average match rating of 8.33 by WhoScored, making him France’s top performer by a considerable margin.
Aston Villa right-back Matty Cash reacted after Poland were knocked out of the World Cup by Les Bleus by claiming Mbappe is ‘unbelievable’ and ‘up there with the best in the world right now’, emphasising that he has been in top form.
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