Kylian Mbappe returned to light training on Wednesday, with a bandage covering his broken nose in the French superstar’s first public appearance since the bloody injury that rocked the European Championships.

Kylian Mbappe returned to light training with the France team on Wednesday with a bandage covering his nose.

Mbappe showed up late to Wednesday afternoon’s training session at the Home Deluxe Arena in Pader𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧, about 30 minutes after his teammates took the field. Initially, the 25-year-old striker was seen running with the ball alone with members of the coaching staff, then talking to coach Didier Deschamps before participating in a shooting drill with other players. France’s next match is against the Netherlands on Friday, and there is still no official confirmation whether Mbappe will play or not.

However, Mbappe himself also provided an important insight into his chances of returning to the field soon, posting on Instagram a few hours before training: “No risk, no victory.” The Real Madrid rookie’s only comment since his injury implicitly said he was ready to play when possible, even though his injury was not at a safe level. But certainly, Mbappe must wear a protective mask if he continues to compete in the tournament.

Meanwhile, Mbappe’s situation was revealed quite optimistically by his two teammates. “A broken nose is not the end of the world. Kylian will be with us soon,” said midfielder Adrien Rabiot. And midfielder William Saliba said he spoke to Mbappe and the striker confirmed he was “feeling a little better”.

Mbappe does not seem to be in pain from his injury.

Coach Deschamps brings an offensive line of the highest quality, so it is not too difficult to find a new solution in the absence of Mbappe, with Olivier Giroud and Randal Kolo Muani being options. Rabiot emphasized: “Kylian is a very important teammate and he is our captain, so it will have an impact on us as well as on the opponents – their preparation for the match will other. I won’t hide it, we definitely want Kylian to play. But looking at who we have on the bench, I think we have what it takes to replace Kylian. I trust all the great players we have in the team.”

The French team will be sure to advance to the round of 16 if they defeat the Netherlands or Poland in the final match on June 25. The knockout round starts on June 29 but France will not play the match before June 30.