Zinédine Zidane chooses Désiré Doué to replace Mbappé

France will turn to Désiré Doué for Monday’s Nations League meeting with Belgium after Kylian Mbappé left the squad. Zinédine Zidane has opted for a positional replacement rather than calling up another player, giving the Paris Saint-Germain forward the chance to step into the captain’s attacking role.

Mbappé sustained the problem during France’s opening match of the international break against Turkey. Medical examinations found an overextension of the posterior capsule in his left knee. The injury is not considered serious, but the Real Madrid forward has returned to Spain and will not play in the rest of France’s programme. He is expected to be available for Real Madrid’s first La Liga match after the break against Villarreal.

Doué has emerged as the preferred option because of the confidence he enjoys within the France staff. Bradley Barcola, Rayan Cherki and Maghnes Akliouche were also possible choices for the left side of the attack, but Zidane has selected Doué. Ousmane Dembélé takes over the captaincy, while France still have two matches against Belgium and one against Italy to complete during the Nations League window. The decision gives Doué an immediate opportunity to establish himself in Zidane’s first competitive France team.