- Kylian Mbappe has been forced to wear a mask after breaking his nose
- Former Manchester United Patrice Evra wore a similar mask in a nod to Mbappé
- Listen to It all starts! on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. New episodes appear every day during the European Championship
Manchester United legend Patrice Evra was spotted wearing a Kylian Mbappe-style face mask on Friday after giving his analysis of France’s goalless draw against the Netherlands.
Evra’s mask was a nod to Mbappe, who broke his nose on Monday when he collided with Austrian Kevin Danso during France’s first 1-0 win over Austria at the 2024 European Championship.
Mbappe trained earlier this week wearing a mask in the colors of the French flag, but was seen wearing a black mask as he stepped onto the bench for their match against the Netherlands.
Mbappe was an unused substitute during the match, but he has since played a friendly with Paderborn’s U21 side and is expected to play against Poland on Tuesday.
Evra, who is known for showing his humorous side, made light of Mbappe’s unfortunate injury by wearing a face mask as he gave his analysis on the France-Netherlands clash on the Sony Sports Network.
French football legend Patrice Evra was seen on live television wearing Kylian Mbappé’s mask
Mbappe had originally worn a protective mask in France’s Tricolore, since banned by UEFA
Mbappe played for France in a mini-friendly against the U21s of local team SV Paderborn 07
Against Paderborn’s U21s, Mbappe put in a great performance, scoring twice and providing two assists as the French won 7-0 in their behind-closed-doors friendly.
Both teams were told to avoid heavy contact to minimize the risk of injury and Mbappe emerged unscathed on the left side of the French front line.
It will also give France boss Didier Deschamps a boost as he selects his squad ahead of their final group match against Poland on Tuesday.
The game also gave Mbappe, 25, a chance to test out the mask designed to protect his face after his nose was effectively shattered earlier in the tournament, which unlike Evra’s is now made of smooth black carbon fibre.
To be fair, Mbappé had previously seen the blue, white and red color of the French Tricolore, but this design was banned.
UEFA rules state that ‘medical equipment worn on the field of play must be of one colour’ and ‘that the team or manufacturer cannot be identified’.