Real Madrid not ruling out Kylian Mbappe return for Supercopa de Espana final
Mbappe is sidelined due to a sprain in his left knee and remains in Madrid while he works on his recovery.
Real Madrid are not ruling out Kylian Mbappe returning from a knee injury in time for their potential Supercopa de Espana final on Sunday.
Mbappe, 27, was sidelined for Madrid’s 5-1 win over Real Betis due to a sprain in his left knee and will miss Thursday’s semi-final against Atletico Madrid. He remains a doubt for Sunday’s final, should Madrid progress.
The forward has not travelled to Saudi Arabia, where the Supercopa is hosted, and has stayed in Madrid to work on his recovery. Madrid have left two physios, Sebastian Devillaz and Guillermo Zurdo, in Spain with Mbappe to aid his rehabilitation and give him the best possible chance of being available for the final.
Sources briefed on the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, indicated that should Madrid beat Atletico, the possibility of Mbappe making his comeback for the final had not been dismissed.
Academy product Gonzalo Garcia scored a hat-trick in the win over Betis and is the favourite to start against Atletico in Mbappe’s absence.
Mbappe underwent tests at the end of December, having been playing with pain in his knee for a number of weeks.
The France international is Madrid’s top scorer this season with 29 goals in 24 appearances in all competitions. Before suffering the knee injury, he has missed just one match across the entirety of the campaign — December’s Champions League loss to Manchester City, in which he was an unused substitute.
Barcelona play Athletic Club on Wednesday in the first Supercopa semi-final.
‘Mbappe recovery dominating Madrid thinking’
Analysis
Mbappe’s presence or absence for Sunday’s potential Supercopa final has dominated Real Madrid’s thinking this week — even if their main concern is reaching that stage by beating Atletico Madrid in the semi-final.
That is clear from the way two physios from Madrid’s staff are helping Mbappe with his recovery. Sources at Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground have described the Frenchman’s injury as a problem that requires daily assessment and is highly dependent on how the player feels and his pain tolerance when it comes to inflammation.
Despite academy graduate Gonzalo Garcia’s fine hat-trick to lead Madrid to their win against Real Betis on Sunday, nobody has forgotten Mbappe’s importance. He has 29 goals and five assists in 24 appearances this season and lifted the European Golden Boot in October for his goalscoring last campaign.
It is fair to question how Mbappe’s injury has been managed. With the team in a poor situation in December and Alonso’s job at risk — along with Mbappe’s desire to beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of goals in a calendar year for Madrid, which he matched — club sources say he played through the pain.