Kylian Mbappe has admitted playing with a face mask to protect his broken nose is “an absolute horror”.
The French forward, who has now officially joined Real Madrid after his Paris Saint-Germain contract expired, broke his nose in his side’s Euro 2024 opener and, after sitting out the second game against the Netherlands, debuted the mask for France‘s 1-1 draw with Poland.
He has been spotted wearing several different masks in training and, ahead of France’s last-16 clash with Belgium on Monday, revealed just how tough he has found life in a mask.
“I didn’t expect it, but playing with a mask is absolute horror,” he explained. “I changed because there were things that were wrong.
“It’s really complicated because it limits vision, the sweat remains blocked so you have to remove it for it to flow. The first days, I had the impression that I was in 3D and that I was invited to the Euro as a VIP… I saw the people and I had the impression that it was not me who was playing.
“As soon as I can take it off, I’m going to take it off. Now I have no choice, I’m not going to play without it. It’s annoying. You saw that I changed five times but there weren’t all the photos, I changed more than that. My competition is going to be like that and it won’t be an excuse because I can only play like that, I have to say thank you to the mask.”
Mbappe further hurt his nose in an accidental clash with Poland’s Robert Lewandowski last time out and went on to admit he fears Belgium will try to target his injury.
“It’s a possibility,” he acknowledged. “When you play with a broken nose and you don’t have an operation, you become a target.
“Lewandowski didn’t do it on purpose, I had an instinctive reaction to the pain, but a lot of kids watch the matches and you have to control yourself.
“I knew what I was getting into, it’s not an easy situation but it’s not new. I can take hits but I’m ready to give everything for this jersey. If my nose has to be hurt to get to the quarter-finals, it’s already broken, so it’s not going to break any more.”
