Mario Balotelli

Mario Balotelli was subbed off during Nice's loss due to sore throat

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:36 p.m. ET

Thomas Hautmann

Mario Balotelli has been an instant hit at Nice since his transfer from Liverpool on deadline day, scoring two goals on his Ligue 1 debut and tallying five goals overall in just four appearances with his new team. But a sore throat may keep him out of the surprise Ligue 1 leaders' next game.

After Balotelli scored a pretty goal from outside the box against Krasnodar in the Europa League on Thursday -- watching it go in from the seat of his pants, no less -- "Super Mario" didn't come back out for the second half.

"Mario has a cough," Favre told the media after the match. "Things went downhill very quickly. He'd actually asked to come off after 25 minutes."

"Then after a difficult spell, he told us it was a little better. We tried to keep him 5-10 minutes more, but he had a sore throat, it wasn't possible," Favre said. "The doctors will explain the symptoms better than me. But we mustn't hide behind him going off as an excuse, because we were struggling with him on the pitch."

Balotelli has been a disaster for a couple of years, but his renaissance over the last month has proven that when the Italian enfant terrible is on, he's really on. And Favre's Nice are going to need him to stay healthy this year. Balotelli's goal against Krasnodar had cut the Russians' lead to 2-1 at the half. After the break, sans Balotelli, Nice capitulated to a 5-2 loss.

In other words, get well soon, Balo.

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