France barely escaped with three points in their Euro 2024 opener against Austria on Monday, needing an own goal from Maximilian Wober to emerge victorious. And to make matters worse, talisman Kylian Mbappe suffered a brutal nose injury which resulted in the superstar bleeding profusely on the pitch.

Following the match, manager Didier Deschamps didn't mince his words and said it's likely Mbappe has a broken nose. Via Fabrizio Romano:

“Yes, Kylian Mbappé has probably broken his nose”, said Deschamps.

Reports coming out of France have hinted that Mbappe did undergo surgery and could have to wear a mask for the rest of the Euros. The injury happened when he smashed his head on an Austrian defender in the 85th minute, going down in immediate pain:

Four minutes later, Mbappe tried coming back on the pitch but since he had no permission to do so from the officials, the Frenchman was handed a yellow card.

It's not yet known if Mbappe will play the final two matches of the group stages for France but if he does, he'll likely have the mask on. That could complicate things. Also, Mbappe will be forced to miss a game if he does get another yellow.

Olivier Giroud came on to replace Kylian Mbappe. The veteran would probably start if the 25-year-old did miss any time.

Tough night for Kylian Mbappe, France

It was a very uninspiring performance from one of the Euro 2024 favorites. The Austrians had more possession than Les Bleus (52%) and the same number of shots on target (3). France didn't pose much of a threat and clearly didn't make the most of their opportunities, having 14 shots in total. Losing Mbappe put a damper on an already disappointing showing.

Deschamps still found positives, though. Via The Athletic:

“It’s good to start with a victory against a really good opponent a lot of athletic qualities, put a lot of pressure on our team,” Deschamps said.

“We could and should have got the lead earlier. Could have transformed certain occasions. Overall assess it as positive.

“We had to fight, but this is important. It’s a common denominator in these matches. It’s so intense.”

Group D isn't the easiest. Austria proved to be a difficult task and next up for France is the Netherlands, a strong side in their own right. The Dutch beat Poland, Les Bleus' 2022 World Cup Round of 16 opponent, 2-1 on Sunday thanks to a Wout Weghorst winner.

Kylian Mbappe is one of the favorites to be the player of the tournament, but if he doesn't play again until the knockout rounds, that may not happen. The former PSG man just signed with Madrid and will be hoping to take some silverware back to the Spanish capital when this tournament concludes.

When asked how France could replace Deschamps, he was brutally honest: You can't:

“Not going to go into hypothesis. French team with Kylian will always be stronger with him.

“If you lose him, have to go without him. But Kylian is Kylian.”

Stay tuned for more injury updates on Kylian Mbappe.