Antoine Mendy Suffers Cruciate Ligament Injury in Nice Draw

Nice’s 1-1 draw with Le Mans has come at a far greater cost than two dropped points. It has cost them Antoine Mendy for months.

The Senegal international has torn the cruciate ligament in his left knee, scans on Sunday confirmed, delivering the kind of diagnosis every player dreads and every medical team fears.

The injury came late in the game. Mendy had only just been sent on, introduced with around 15 minutes to play, when he landed awkwardly on his left leg. He immediately crumpled, clutching his knee, the pain written all over his face.

He tried to get up. He couldn’t.

The defender was forced off at the Allianz Riviera in obvious distress, escorted from the pitch as Nice’s staff looked on anxiously. By full-time, concern had already turned to resignation. The tests the following day only underlined it.

The scans confirmed a cruciate ligament tear, ruling the 22-year-old out for several months and stripping Francesco Farioli’s side of an important defensive option just as the season begins to bite. Any exact return date will hinge on how his treatment and rehabilitation unfold, but Nice know they will be without him for a long stretch.

A frustrating draw with Le Mans now feels like the least of their problems.