Antoine Mendy Suffers Serious Knee Injury in Nice Draw

Nice’s 1-1 draw with Le Mans has come at a far higher price than two dropped points. The club have lost defender Antoine Mendy for several months after the Senegal international tore the cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Scans carried out on Sunday confirmed the severity of the damage, matching the medical staff’s worst suspicions after the incident during the match. Mendy fell awkwardly on his left leg and immediately signalled that he could not continue.

He had only just come on, introduced from the bench with around 15 minutes to play, tasked with helping to see the game out. Instead, he was forced off before the final whistle, leaving the Allianz Riviera in obvious distress and clutching his knee.

The diagnosis is brutal. A cruciate ligament tear that will sideline him for months and strip Nice of a defensive option at a key point in the season. The exact length of his absence will hinge on how surgery, treatment and rehabilitation unfold.

For Nice, the draw with Le Mans now feels like more than a frustrating result. It marks the night they lost Antoine Mendy for the long haul – and the start of a recovery race that will run deep into the campaign.