Kylian Mbappé is expected to be out for several weeks. This was revealed by an MRI scan on the last day of the calendar year.
In recent days, Kylian Mbappé has been appearing more frequently in stadiums at the Africa Cup of Nations. But on the last day of the year, the 2018 French World Cup winner was back in Spain’s capital – undergoing an MRI scan. Knee problems have been causing recurring problems for the Royal’s goal scorer recently.
On Wednesday, the good news that Real’s shaky head coach Xabi Alonso had been desperately hoping for failed to materialize: according to club information, Mbappé has suffered a sprain of the lateral ligament in his left knee. According to sources close to him, the new injury will keep Mbappé out of action for at least three weeks.
It is a loss at the worst possible time from the perspective of Xabi Alonso and Real: in La Liga, the Royals are under pressure, trailing arch-rivals FC Barcelona by four points, and cannot afford any more slip-ups. And there is still a chance to win a title in January: in the Spanish Super Cup, now traditionally held in Saudi Arabia, Real will face city rivals Atlético in the semi-finals on January 8 (8 p.m.). In a possible final three days later, Barcelona or Athletic Bilbao would be waiting.
Will Mbappé also miss the Monaco game?
Before the Super Cup, Real still has a challenging La Liga home game against sixth-placed Real Betis to contend with this coming Sunday. The rest of January will see league games against Levante and Villarreal, as well as Champions League matches against Mbappé’s former club Monaco (January 20) and José Mourinho’s Benfica Lisbon (January 28).
In his current form, Mbappé is irreplaceable for Real: with 18 La Liga goals, the lightning-fast striker leads the scoring charts in Spain, well ahead of Barcelona’s Ferran Torres (11). In the last game of the year against Sevilla FC (2-0), Mbappé scored his 59th goal of the 2025 calendar year, equaling the Real Madrid record set by his idol Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013.
