France manager left furious by Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe treatment
France manager Didier Deschamps has been taken by surprise by Kylian Mbappe's swift return from injury for Real Madrid, having left him out his squad for the upcoming international break
by Matthew Cooper · The MirrorDidier Deschamps has reportedly been left unhappy after Kylian Mbappe featured twice for Real Madrid, despite being left out of the France squad due to injury.
Mbappe picked up a muscle injury in Madrid's 3-2 win over Alaves last month which was expected to keep him out of action for three weeks. The forward missed the Madrid derby against Atletico, which ended as a 1-1 draw, but made a surprise appearance off the bench in his side's 1-0 defeat to Lille in the Champions League.
He then started their 2-0 win over Villarreal three days later and is now enjoying an extended break ahead of Madrid's clash with Celta Vigo on October 19. Mbappe will not feature in France's Nations League matches against Israel and Belgium over the international break, with Deschamps citing his injury when the squad was announced earlier this month.
"I had an exchange with Kylian," Deschamps explained when quizzed about Mbappe's absence. "He has a problem which is not serious. I am not going to take risks, which is why he is not in the squad."
However, Mbappe's return to action for Madrid has taken Deschamps by surprise, according to a report from L'Equipe. It is claimed France were not informed by Madrid that Mbappe was in line to start against Villarreal.
France will also be without Antoine Griezmann after he announced his retirement from international football before the latest squad announcement. "It is with a heart full of memories that I close this chapter of my life," Griezmann wrote on social media.
"Thank you for this wonderful tricolor adventure and see you soon." Deschamps also paid tribute to the 33-year-old, who scored 44 goals in 137 appearances for France and helped them win the 2018 World Cup.
"We had a long discussion about this recently. Since his debut in the French team ten years ago, we have maintained a relationship of trust and very frank relations," Deschamps said. "Antoine was and will remain a monument of French football, one of the greatest players in its history.
"Beyond his 44 goals and 30 assists, his involvement in the results we have achieved over the last decade is immense. Driven by a collective spirit at all times and a rare altruism among offensive players, Antoine has always brought honour to football and the blue jersey.
"He never cheated. It has often been said that Antoine was my favourite. We had indeed established a very strong relationship, which will remain intact. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything, my Grizou."
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