"Any ideas for a mask?" French football player Kylian Mbappé may have broken his nose, but his sense of humour is unscathed.
His injury will mean a break from the European Championships and he will have to wear a protective face mask to prevent further injury once he is allowed back on the pitch.
Wearing a mask is also helpful from a psychological point of view, as worrying about any further injury can damage your motivation, says ENT specialist Bernhard Robbers in the German Euro 2024 host city of Düsseldorf.
However, for those of us who aren't professional sports stars, no mask is likely necessary. But if you do break your nose, here are some things to remember.
How do most people wind up breaking their noses?
People tend to break their noses in situations where "a sudden event causes the nose to hit an obstacle directly with force," says Bernhard Robbers, Head Physician at the Centre for ENT Medicine, Head and Neck Surgery and Plastic Surgery at the German medical institute.
There are many settings where that could occur such as if a football, handball or basketball hits your nose. People also often get this injury during a fight, when falling off a bike or when suddenly fainting.
The nasal bone can break from the force of the impact. Your nose has two bones and you can feel them if you grasp the bridge of your nose, at the top.
You may also wind up damaging the cartilaginous part of the nose - the nasal septum in the centre - if you fracture your nose.
Sounds painful, what should you do?
If you or someone you know suffers an injury to the face and their nose is crooked, bleeding, swollen, very painful and/or making it hard to breathe, they may have a broken nose. First, cool the nose to reduce the pain, says Robbers.
In the case of a nose bleed, you can stop it by applying pressure. "The best way to stop a nosebleed is to use the two-finger method to press the front of the nose together with the nostrils for a few minutes," he says. "The patient should sit or stand upright and keep the head elevated."
You might also want to place something cool on the injured person's neck, like a cold pack or you can improvise one by filling a cloth with ice. It helps the blood vessels inside the nose to constrict, stopping the bleeding more quickly.
Next, make sure a doctor looks at the injury as soon as possible.
How do you treat a nasal fracture?
"You won't need an operation if the nasal bone fracture is stable and straight," says Bernhard Robbers. The bones will grow back together without needing any treatment.
But surgery might be called for if otherwise the nose will be crooked otherwise, or if the septum is affected, says Robbers. Doctors are also likely to operate for multi-fragment fractures, meaning if the nasal bone is broken into several parts.
After an operation, patients wear a nasal plaster cast for around a week. "By then, the nasal bone is relatively firm again," says Robbers.
Football star Mbappé is also likely to have to undergo surgery - albeit not as soon as possible, says French national team trainer Didier Deschamps.
How long does it take to heal completely?
It takes around four to six weeks for the nasal bone to heal, and ideally, unless you are a professional athlete taking part in a major international tournament, you should take a break from sport for that period.
