Kylian Mbappe misses France training after Didier Deschamps holds private chat with doctor | Football | Sport

There was no sign of Kylian Mbappe as France trained on Tuesday night in Doha ahead of this weekend’s World Cup quarter-final clash with England. The Paris Saint-Germain superstar, who is the top goalscorer in Qatar after netting five times in four matches for the Les Bleus, was the only notable absentee for Didier Deschamps’ side as they were back out on the grass to warm-up for Saturday night’s pulsating spectacle at the Al Bayt Stadium.

According to RMC Sport in France, a source close to the French camp has disclosed that an extensive chat took place between head coach Deschamps and his medical staff before the decision was made.

Mbappe was understood to be in the ‘recovery room’ while the session was taking place but it is currently unclear whether the 23-year-old is nursing an injury problem or instead, simply in need of some extra rest.

Separate reports have since poured cold water on his absence – suggesting the indoor recovery session was always planned by France and their fitness coaches.

The PSG attacker netted a stunning double for the world champions on Saturday as Les Bleus cruised to a 3-1 victory over Poland in their last 16 clash to set up their showdown with England.

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Mbappe has started all but one of France’s games at the World Cup after Deschamps shuffled his pack for the 1-0 defeat to Tunisia with qualification already in the bag.

But France once again showcased their attacking quality when they ripped Poland to sheds and England will be fearful of the quality they possess in attack with not only Mbappe but Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele, too.

England boss Gareth Southgate has already hinted that he will be sticking to his guns and swerving any unexpected formation changes to try and nullify Mbappe – should he be fit.

“We’ve always got to get the balance of the team right,” he told the media.

“We’re wanting to be positive, we feel we’ve done that so far in this tournament. I think we’ve got energy in the team, we’ve got legs in the team, we’ve got depth in the squad. So I don’t think we should be drifting too far from what we’ve been.

“You’ve obviously got to make allowances for the opposition and find out where you can exploit them but we’ve got good players to come in as well.”

In true World Cup fashion, there has also been talk of a rift between Benjamin Pavard and Deschamps after he was dropped from the starting lineup following the 4-1 demolition of Australia.

Pavard was at fault for the opening goal and has since been replaced by Jules Kounde at right-back.

However, reports in France have moved to clarify that there has been no row between the Bayern Munich defender and his manager – despite being overlooked for the final group match against Tunisia.

Deschamps previously said that Pavard “wasn’t in the right disposition” to play in the match.