The news fell last Wednesday, unfortunately without surprise, through an official press release from ASSE: “Yvan Maçon suffered a dislocation of his right knee, responsible for a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament. He will be operated this Thursday by Dr Sonnery-Cottet. ASSE gives its full support to its young defender whose season is already over ”. The diagnosis was to be feared. The day before, in Strasbourg, we were playing the 42nd minute of the match between the France Espoirs team and Slovakia when Maçon was injured at the end of the race on the right wing of the Bleuets attack. His knee did not resist. He cracked, he bent. And the Guadeloupe had gone out on a stretcher, holding his head in his hands, in tears.
Puel: “He will come back”
Operated by Doctor Sonnery-Cottet, Mason passed into the hands of a surgeon whom the Greens know well: it was he who had operated on Kévin-Monnet-Paquet, twice, but also Zaydou Youssouf and Jérémy Porsant-Clémenté , last season. “This injury touched us a lot,” commented Claude Puel. Yvann is appreciated, he was making a very good start to the championship, he was showing himself. We will surround him, help him to overcome all that. He will come back. I have no doubt about it. He is built in his head, he will be patient to get back afloat. “
The former player from Dunkirk, who arrived in Forez last January, had just celebrated his 22nd birthday and made his big debut with the Espoirs, where he caught the eye of Sylvain Ripoll, the coach. “Yvann, I’ve followed him a lot since the start of the season. He is like the Saint-Etienne team that I see now, that is to say bubbly, enthusiastic, carried forward, comfortable with the ball. He also has defensive guarantees because he’s someone who pushes very hard, who has legs. What I am currently seeing pleased me and that is why I selected it. I think he can contribute to this France Espoirs team, “said the former coach of the Merlus before the international fortnight. Mason was particularly distinguished by delivering a very good match in Marseille (2-0) before scoring a nice goal in Nantes (2-2). He was the one who signed the speed record at the start of the season. In L1, reaching 36.4 km / h. He was also the player to have played the most duels in six league days (102), the one who had made the most tackles (30) and the one who had succeeded the most (20). His injury is obviously a hard blow for him and for ASSE.