Tonight, Real Madrid plays a big part of its season. After its victory in the first leg (1-0), in a tense context around the Prestianni-Vinicius Jr affair, Alvaro Arbeloa’s team welcomes the Lisbonites for this return match of the play-offs with a place in the round of 16 of the Champions League at stake. A very important meeting for which the Madrid coach will have to do without Kylian Mbappé.
The Frenchman, who nevertheless played the entire match against Osasuna in La Liga this weekend, is not in the group, the fault of his knee problems which have been handicapping him for several weeks now, and whose management has earned some criticism from Alvaro Arbeloa. A big loss for the Madrilenians, especially since everything indicates that the Bondynois will also miss his team’s next matches.
Mbappé will still miss matches
Marca actually explains that Kylian Mbappé is going to take a break, he who would not be completely satisfied with how the Madrid medical staff handled his concerns. He will not play again until his left knee problems disappear permanently. Playing without being 100% as has often been the case recently, that’s it. The goal is for him not to strain and for him to recover completely. The objective is clear: for him to be in optimal condition for the round of 16 of the Champions League, the first leg of which will be played in the second week of March. In case of qualification of course.
We should therefore not see him during the next La Liga matchday against Getafe on Monday March 2, nor the following weekend, Saturday March 7 against Celta, and he would therefore make his return on March 10 or 11 for the Champions League in the event of qualification. Regardless, a very busy month of March awaits the Madrilenians, with a derby against Atlético on the 22nd, where Mbappé will also be expected at the turn. Suffice it to say that his presence in the French group for the two friendly matches in the USA against Colombia and Brazil on March 26 and 29 is far from obvious and that new sparks risk flying between Real Madrid and the FFF…
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