France U21: Ethan Mbappé and Senny Mayulu ruled out, Dehmaine Tabibou called up

Twelve minutes. Ethan Mbappé was making his first start for France’s under-21s against Estonia on Tuesday: a cross attempted, a blow to the ankle, and his evening was over before the quarter-hour.

France U21 won 2-0 through Ngoura and Bahoya and lead group C of Euro 2027 qualifying with 20 points from eight games. The camp itself took a hit: Senny Mayulu, troubled by his left thigh, had already given way to Noé Lebreton in the 41st minute. On Wednesday, the federation confirmed a double withdrawal: both players return to their clubs in the evening and will undergo further examinations “to determine the length of their unavailability”.

The previous evening, Gérald Baticle had already voiced his concern for the 19-year-old from Lille. “As I speak to you, I am worried. I hope I am worrying for nothing, but I am… Now I am waiting for the full results of the examinations,” L’Équipe reported. Accounts of the substitution differ: Foot Mercato described a stretcher, RMC Sport a player escorted by the physios, the moment of the injury not caught by the TV cameras.

Two games without them, Tabibou in

France U21 host Luxembourg on Saturday and Switzerland on Tuesday to close the international break, both games at home. Dehmaine Tabibou, a Nantes player, has been recalled and was expected at Clairefontaine on Wednesday evening; Gérald Baticle rebuilds a team without two of Tuesday’s starters.

Lille and PSG now wait on the results to learn how long they lose the pair for.