Mbappe ‘has France camp worried he’ll miss England tie’ in new twist

Saka laughs off comparisons to Mbappe ahead of England v France

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The France camp are worried Kylian Mbappe could miss Saturday’s World Cup showdown with England after he was absent from training, according to reports. The Paris Saint-Germain star has been in fine form at the tournament so far, netting five goals from four matches. And, if he fails to recover in time, that would hand Gareth Southgate a major boost as he looks to steer his side to glory.

Mbappe has scored in victories over Australia, Denmark and Poland so far this tournament – establishing himself as Didier Deschamps’ main man once again as France look to defend their World Cup title.

However, he was missing from training on Tuesday and was the only member of the squad not to take to the field.

While Mbappe is only doing recovery work in the gym, The Sun say his absence has sparked fears within the French camp that he could miss the upcoming showdown with England.

The 23-year-old would certainly be a big absence for the reigning champions, especially given how they’re already without three key players this winter.

Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante, of Juventus and Chelsea respectively, haven’t travelled to the Middle East as they look to regain their fitness ahead of club football resuming later in the month.

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And Real Madrid hitman Karim Benzema was forced to withdraw from the squad shortly before the World Cup commenced, with Deschamps opting against calling up a replacement.

Mbappe is suffering with a ’niggling ankle injury’ and will be hellbent on facing England as France look to make the semi-finals.

Should he miss out, then it’s possible Christopher Nkunku will get the nod with the RB Leipzig star being linked with a move to Chelsea ahead of the January transfer window.

France striker Olivier Giroud was full of praise for Mbappe when speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, saying: “Kylian is obviously the best striker I have played with in all of my career.

“He is an amazing player and the scary thing is that he is still young and is only going to improve.

“We’ve still not seen the best of him and I hope it will come soon because we know that he is going to break all the records.

“Right from the beginning of this competition he has been crucial for us, very decisive and competitive. He is unbelievable.”

England boss Southgate, meanwhile, insisted after his side’s 3-0 win over Senegal that France had more dangermen than just Mbappe.

“Of course (Mbappe) is a world-class player and has already delivered big moments in this tournament and in previous tournaments,” he said.

“But there’s also, I think (Antoine) Griezmann is now over 70 consecutive games for France and I think he’s also a phenomenal player.

“We know Olivier Giroud so well and they have outstanding young midfield players as well.

“So, everywhere you look when we’re studying France at every age group, they have an incredible depth of talent in every position.

“It’s a huge test but one that we’re really looking forward to and it’s a great challenge for our team now.”

England have faced France at two major tournaments in the past 20 years.

They lost 2-1 to Les Bleus at Euro 2004, with Zinedine Zidane netting a late double after Frank Lampard had put England ahead.

And the two teams played out a 1-1 draw at Euro 2012, with Joleon Lescott and Samir Nasri both on target. 

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