As the captain, leader and spokesman for the France team during Euro 2016, Hugo Lloris grew accustomed to speaking on behalf of his team-mates in good times and bad, although there was nothing that would compare to the emotions he felt five days after defeat in the final.

It was then that Lloris, a Nice boy, born and bred, returned to his home town in the aftermath of the murder of 84 people on Bastille Day, July 14, by Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, who drove his heavy-goods lorry into crowds on the Promenade des Anglais.

Lloris, one of France’s highest-profile Nicois, was invited to inspect the tributes to the dead and injured with his wife, Marine.

Sitting at Tottenham Hotspur’s training ground last week, it felt a long time since the intense security operation of Euro 2016, and high expectations of France’s run to the final a month previous.

As for what happened in Nice with the tournament barely over, it would be right to say that occasionally Lloris finds it hard to find words adequate to describe his feelings. He was on holiday in Corsica when the attack took place and was due to come back the following day, which he did.