Kylian Mbappe and Kingsley Coman missed France’s training session on Thursday following a virus outbreak at the team’s Euro 2024 training base in Paderborn.
Kylian Mbappe and Kingsley Coman missed France‘s training session on Thursday following a virus outbreak at the team’s Euro 2024 training base.
The Euros begin on Friday night in Germany, with Les Bleus scheduled to play their tournament opener on Monday evening against Austria at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf.
Along with England and the host nation Germany, France are considered favourites to lift the continental trophy this year, and Mbappe is set to captain his nation for the first time in a major competition.
However, Les Bleus’ preparations seem to have suffered a significant setback after a virus outbreak was confirmed at their training camp in Paderborn.
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Mbappe, Coman miss training session after virus outbreak in Les Bleus camp
Consequently, both Mbappe and fellow attacking partner Coman were absent from Thursday’s team training session, while manager Didier Deschamps was also affected by the bug.
Later reports indicated that Mbappe managed to ‘work in the gym’ on his own despite feeling unwell, and briefly appeared on the training pitch to greet fans thereafter.
However, Bayern Munich winger Coman was forced to spend the day isolated in his room, though it is believed his illness is not too serious.
Additionally, Ibrahima Konate and Aurelien Tchouameni began the group training session but later broke off to undertake individual exercises with the team’s physical trainers.
Mbappe, who recently completed his move to Real Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain, only featured for 15 minutes in Les Bleus 0-0 draw against Canada last Sunday due to an injury.
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Dembele among Les Bleus players recovering from illness
During a press conference on Thursday, Ousmane Dembele provided an update on the situation, disclosing that he had also suffered from illness in the lead-up to the Euros.
The PSG star commented, “For my part, things are much better. I had the flu last Tuesday. I had a little fever, I was the first one.
“Everyone will be okay in a couple of days. The whole team is better apart from Coman, who is a little sicker. We’re going to make him a little cake for the chef to take back to his room!”
Following their opening matchup against Austria, France will face the Netherlands and Poland in Group D, with Mbappe expected to play a significant role in their campaign, having been pivotal in their World Cup success in 2018 and reaching the Qatar final in 2022.
The last time Les Bleus won the Henri Delaunay Cup was back in 2000 when Deschamps was the team’s captain.