Kylian Mbappe pulled up moments after firing France in front against Turkey in Izmit on Friday, planted his standing leg awkwardly and never really recovered. He tried to continue, went down again shortly afterwards and was substituted in the second half of what was Zinedine Zidane’s debut on the France bench. France won 1-0.

Zidane confirmed the seriousness on Friday night.

“It’s not going well, unfortunately. I think he’ll have to go back. We’re not going to take any risks,” he told reporters after the match, pointing to swelling in the knee and calling the picture “not encouraging”.

The French Football Federation initially described the problem as a tendon issue. Real Madrid supplied the formal diagnosis a day later, confirming a hyperextension of the posterior capsule of Mbappe’s left knee after further examinations at the club’s medical centre. AS and Marca have put the expected absence at 10 to 12 days, which would line up with a return once the international break is over.

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The pitch, not the tackle

There was no opponent within reach when Mbappe pulled up: he simply drove through his shot and his standing leg gave way. Zidane’s staff have pinned the injury on the surface at Kocaeli Stadium rather than on anything he did. According to L’Equipe, the France medical team blamed the poor condition of the pitch for making Mbappe’s standing foot slip as he struck. Frustration with the ground in Izmit had been circulating inside the France camp during the visit.

No like-for-like replacement

Zidane opted against calling up an extra forward, Fotmob reported, and will instead rework his attack from within the group that travelled to Turkey. Ousmane Dembele is in line to lead the line and take the armband in Brussels, with Eduardo Camavinga set to feature in midfield.

Kick-off at King Baudouin Stadium is at 8:45pm local time on Monday, 28 September.

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