One of the most coveted footballers in the world at the moment Kylian Mbappe limped off in the 74th minute of AS Monaco’s opening match of their Ligue 1 title defence against Toulouse. The speedy forward was tackled on the left edge of the box in a typical foot race. It was not the tackle that was the problem it was the pitch at the Stade de Louis Deux in the principality that seemed to give way under the right foot of the France international.
As soon as Mbappe went down under the challenge, former Bordeaux and England striker Clive Allen in the BT Sport commentary wailed “oh I think he has probably done himself damage there”. As the youngster seemed in so much pain, Allen continued as TV replays showed what looked like Mbappe’s knee buckling “I genuinely hope I am wrong but it does look quite serious”.
After treatment Mbappe returned and seemed to move freely. However, less than 10 minutes later he sat on the pitch and was later replaced by fellow youth team graduate Saint Maximim Allan. On the bench, his right knee was wrapped in an ice pack.
Three seasons ago, Kevin Strootman at AS Roma went down under a challenge, got up to continue to play for a bit. Doctors who operated on him claimed he did himself more damage by the period he played on. It cost the Dutchman a whole season after. Many will hope that the same does not happen to Mbappe for the 6 or 7 minutes he played on.
Goals by Jemerson, Radamel Falcao and Kamil Glick gave the Champions a 3-2 victory over financial strugglers. The v Toulouse. The visitors had twice taken the lead but the Champions rallied to win. The story of the night will be Mbappe’s injury. The football world will hope he is alright.
