GARY LINEKER and Alan Shearer were left stunned by how well Kylian Mbappe’s broken nose had healed up – and were even surprised he missed France’s draw with the Netherlands.
The superstar forward, 25, suffered the gruesome injury late on in Les Bleus’ narrow 1-0 win over Austria.
He collided with Kevin Danso and busted his hooter, sending blood all over his face and across his pristine white kit before being rushed to hospital.
That saw the French national team get a tricolour protective mask made so that Mbappe could wear it in training – with a plain version to be used in matches to comply with Uefa rulings.
However, Mbappe was named among the substitutes for Friday night’s clash with the Dutch – but did not make it on to the field.
But BBC pair Lineker and Shearer covering the game in the studio could not believe the transformation in the Frenchman’s nose – just days after seemingly breaking it.
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So much so that they actually seemed surprised he did not feature in the draw – and think he might have had some emergency cosmetic work done.
Shearer said: “If there was any doubt, and I suppose there is, there is no point in risking him. If they had to win he’d probably start.
“He’s had his nose straightened anyway.”
And Lineker replied: “It looks all right, doesn’t it? It’s not that bad.
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“It looks pretty good for me for a broken nose!”
Instead, Mbappe watched on from the sidelines as his nation played out a 0-0 draw.
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The result leaves France second in Group D – level on points with the Netherlands on four points but trailing the Dutch on goals scored because Ronald Koeman’s men beat Poland 2-1.
However, it could have been far worse for the 2018 world champions.
Xavi Simons thought he had snatched an opener – but after a lengthy delay, the English team of referees and VAR controversially ruled it out for offside.
That is because Denzel Dumfries was stood in an offside position to the goalkeeper’s left – although few were convinced he was actually interfering with French goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
