Mbappé stayed indoors at the Clairefontaine training camp on Tuesday, confined to indoor work while the rest of the squad drilled outside.

The French federation confirmed a bout of flu had kept the captain away from the group session. The team has not ruled him out of Friday’s Nations League opener in Kocaeli.

The timing is unhelpful, to put it mildly. Friday marks Zinedine Zidane’s first competitive match in charge of France, and his captain is precisely the player he can least afford to lose in week one.

Medical staff expect the Real Madrid forward to rejoin full training once the symptoms clear, with a final call on his availability against Turkey to be made closer to kick-off.

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A debut squad with five new names

Zidane, who was appointed France head coach in July 2026, unveiled his first squad on 18 September. Alongside familiar faces including Mbappé, Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembélé, he handed maiden senior call-ups to five players: goalkeeper Guillaume Restes, defenders Andy Diouf and Jérémy Jacquet, midfielder Lucas Da Cunha and striker Esteban Lepaul.

Fifteen members of the group were part of France’s 2026 World Cup campaign.

Four fixtures in eleven days

France sit in League A alongside Turkey, Belgium and Italy, and the opening block is unforgiving. After Friday’s trip to Kocaeli, Les Bleus travel to Belgium on 28 September, then host Italy on 2 October and Belgium again on 5 October.

That schedule is why the medical team has kept its options open on Mbappé.

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The squad train again at Clairefontaine before flying to Turkey. Kick-off at Kocaeli Stadium is on Friday, 25 September.

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