Real Madrid have confirmed that Kylian Mbappe has suffered a thigh injury ahead of this weekend’s derby clash with bitter rivals Atletico in La Liga. Los Blancos confirmed the news on Wednesday with the French superstar now expected to miss around three weeks of action.
Mbappe was substituted during the 3-2 win over Alaves on Tuesday and did not look comfortable as he came off. Initial estimates put the ex-Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco man’s unavailability at around three weeks , per ESPN, which would rule him out vs. Atleti but also for France’s national team.
“Following tests carried out today by Real Madrid’s Medical Services on our player Kylian Mbappe, he has been diagnosed with an injury to the biceps femoris in his left leg,” read the Spanish and European champions’ official statement. “His progress will be monitored.”
Mbappe, 25, scored in the five-goal thriller at Santiago Bernabeu this midweek and has five goals to his name so far this season from just seven appearances. Real’s Head Coach Carlo Ancelotti suggested that the Frenchman was “overloaded” with the injury coming within days of Manchester City’s Rodri and Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen getting hurt.
“He is fine, he is fine — a little overloaded,” said the Italian after the Alaves win which provisionally closed the gap on Barcelona at the summit of La Liga to a single point. “He asked me for the change to avoid problems.”
Real will now face Atletico without Mbappe on Sunday in the Madrid Derby with Los Merengues unbeaten in 39 games since losing to Diego Simeone’s side one year ago. He will also miss a first competitive return to France as a Real player when Los Blancos face Lille in the UEFA Champions League next week.
On top of that, the France national team captain is unlikely to be available to Didier Deschamps for the games against Israel and Belgium during the October international period. With seven goals from nine outings despite a fairly unconvincing start to life in Spain, it comes at a far from ideal time for Mbappe and Real.
What does this mean for Mbappe?
This comes at a frustrating moment for the new arrival who is still finding his feet in the Spanish capital after a slower than expected adaptation period. Getting used to La Liga has proven more challenging — especially on the road — than many anticipated while Mbappe is not the only one who is having to adjust. His new teammates like Jude Bellingham and Vini Jr. have had to get used to the France star while the likes of Rodrygo and Endrick have also had to accept slightly different situations to what was perhaps first expected. However, the Brazilian pair actually have a lot to gain in these coming weeks with Mbappe’s absence likely to mean improved game time for them and a chance for Ancelotti to test out other options. It is similar for Didier Deschamps and Les Bleus who actually looked better without Mbappe against Belgium last time out and now must do without him in October.
What does this mean for Real?
Obviously, it is not a good thing for the Spanish giants but there are ways of looking at the upsides that could come this period of absence for Mbappe. Endrick and Rodrygo getting greater minutes will enable the two to show Ancelotti what they are capable of while Vini Jr. does not suddenly have to fight to compete as much given how similar he and Mbappe are in terms of their playing styles and left-sided preferences. This injury as well as Bellingham’s recent issues illustrate that Real could be in danger of seeing some of their main stars run into the ground before Christmas, so perhaps this came at the right time to be heeded as a warning which can still be acted upon by Real in order to preserve key players over the course of a long and testing campaign.
Don’t miss CBS Sports Golazo Network’s Morning Footy, now in podcast form! Our crew brings you all the news, views, highlights and laughs you need to follow the Beautiful Game in every corner of the globe, every Monday-Friday all year long.
