Kylian Mbappe has declared his troublesome left knee is now fully recovered, offering a significant boost to France’s World Cup preparations.
The Real Madrid striker, who has been eased back into action as a substitute in his club’s recent fixtures, has now joined his national teammates ahead of two friendly matches in the United States this week.
Speaking to French media on Monday evening at a promotional event, Mbappe reflected on the challenging period of his injury.
“There was a lot of frustration, a lot of anger, and then also some anxiety at one point,” he admitted. “I had reached a stage where I didn’t know what was wrong with me.
“I didn’t go through that period in the best way. I wasn’t the happiest player in the world. But I’m happy now because it’s truly behind me. It’s all gone.”
The injury, a knee sprain, occurred late last year. The forward, who made his move to Madrid in the summer of 2024, initially played through January before being sidelined for three-and-a-half weeks prior to his latest return.
Mbappe explained his cautious approach to recovery: “I wanted to be very cautious so as not to come back too quickly and risk a relapse or pick up another injury elsewhere.
“I wasn’t afraid of reinjuring my knee, but of getting hurt somewhere else, because after four or five weeks without playing, you have to get all the other muscles going again. That’s why I took my time.”
He also criticised the “baseless” speculation that circulated during his absence.
“A lot of people gave a diagnosis, even though until not very long ago I didn’t have one myself,” he stated. “From that point on it was easy to say that everything being said was wrong.
“I heard a lot of things — surgery, that I might not play again, that I wouldn’t be able to play in the World Cup. It was all completely baseless.”
Despite his time on the sidelines, Mbappe boasts an impressive 38 goals in 35 matches across all competitions this season.
He expressed satisfaction with Real Madrid’s strong performance in his absence, with the club currently second in La Liga and set to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals next month.
Mbappe hopes to feature for France during the international break as Les Bleus intensify their preparations for the summer World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The prolific attacker, who scored a hat-trick in the dramatic 2022 final loss to Lionel Messi’s Argentina and became only the second teenager after Pele to score in a World Cup final in 2018, will be looking to add to his international accolades.
France are scheduled to play Brazil on Thursday in Foxborough, followed by a match against Colombia on March 29 in Landover.
