Despite having just four days until France’s World Cup quarterfinal matchup against England, Kylian Mbappe failed to show up for practice on Tuesday.
The star of Paris Saint-Germain has been in outstanding form in Qatar, increasing his total to five goals in four games with a superb brace against Poland.
Nevertheless, according to the L’Equipe report, the 23-year-old was absent from Tuesday’s team practice at the Jassim-bin-Hamad stadium.
Working on a different schedule than his teammates, Mbappe reportedly spent the day working in France’s “recovery room.”
This Saturday’s competition’s quarterfinal will feature England vs. France.
Earlier in the competition, Mbappe was dealing with a minor injury. Before the final group match against Tunisia, the forward was seen strapping around his ankle. With France’s place in the round of 16 already secured, he started the match on the bench.
Mbappe is rumored to have developed an ankle problem while playing for PSG, but he hasn’t shown any symptoms of it in Qatar, putting on a string of outstanding performances for Les Blues.
When England takes on the reigning champions this weekend, Mbappe will be the biggest threat. Olivier Giroud, a former Arsenal and Chelsea striker, will also be a major threat because he recently passed Thierry Henry as the all-time leading scorer with a goal in a 3-1 victory over Poland.
Mbappe will support Giroud at the front for Didier Deschamps’s team; the veteran has praised the PSG star as one of the best forwards he has ever played with.
In a press conference, Giroud claimed that Kylian is essentially one of the best players he has ever played with, amazing, and young, which is concerning because he can still get better.
He is very effective and has been essential for us from the start of the competition. He is also very competitive and decisive. He is the best striker he has ever played with across all of his teams.
