Mbappé Doubt for France’s Nations League Match Against Italy

France are bracing themselves for another night without their superstar. Kylian Mbappé is expected to miss tomorrow’s UEFA Nations League showdown with Italy after feeling discomfort in his hamstring, according to L’Équipe.

The Real Madrid forward sat out first-team training earlier today, just hours before Les Bleus were due to fly to Milan. For Zinédine Zidane, still settling into his role in charge of the national team, it is yet another headache in an international break already littered with setbacks.

Aurélien Tchouaméni, Pierre Kalulu and Marcus Thuram have all withdrawn from the squad, leaving France increasingly stretched in key areas. Now the captain and attacking spearhead is at risk as well.

This is not an isolated scare. Mbappé was forced to cut short his involvement in the previous international camp, Zidane’s first at the helm, exiting early and leaving France to improvise without their main reference point in the final third. The pattern will concern both Zidane and Real Madrid, even if the initial diagnosis brings a measure of relief.

The early indications are reassuring: the issue is not believed to be serious. L’Équipe reports that France are likely to err on the side of caution against Italy, with the staff reluctant to gamble on their talisman in a high-intensity fixture so soon after the first signs of discomfort.

That caution comes with a clear objective. The French camp hope that resting Mbappé tomorrow will be enough to have him ready for Sunday’s Nations League meeting with Turkiye. For Zidane, the calculation is simple: protect his most decisive player now to keep him available for the wider campaign ahead.