Kylian Mbappe is reportedly set to miss Real Madrid’s crunch Champions League tie against Benfica after weeks of ‘playing on one leg’.
The Frenchman is far-and-away Madrid’s top scorer with an astonishing 38 goals already this season but he has been struggling with an injury to his left knee in recent months.
With 13 of his strikes coming in the Champions League for Los Blancos, boss Alvaro Arbeloa is hoping to have his star forward available for the crucial second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
But, according to outlets ESPN and L’Equipe, Mbappe’s availability for the European clash on Wednesday evening has been cast into late doubt.
Sources told ESPN that both the club’s doctors and Mbappe himself are worried about his availability against Benfica, in what could be a crucial 90 minutes for Madrid’s season.
L’Equipe’s report suggests Arbeloa’s future may hinge on Wednesday’s result, and claims ‘for the past six weeks, Mbappe has been playing on one leg, struggling when he needed to accelerate’.
Kylian Mbappe was seen clutching his knee during Real Madrid’s training session on Tuesday
He has 38 goals this season but could now miss Madrid’s game against Benfica on Wednesday
The French newspaper added that Madrid’s talisman has also been ‘experiencing significant pain when changing direction’ – a problem that could be exacerbated if he continues to play and potentially derail his World Cup hopes.
It is reported that Mbappe would require a 10-day break if he was played by Arbeloa, ruling him out of key La Liga ties against Getafe and Celta Vigo as Madrid look to hunt down title rivals Barcelona.
The ex-PSG star participated in Madrid’s open training session on Tuesday but could not complete it due to the pain in his knee. It is believed the issues first began in December and the star striker has largely been playing through the pain since.
Despite the discomfort, Arbeloa maintained Mbappe – who played 90 minutes in the first leg in Lisbon – will ‘have a great game’ against Benfica.
‘Kylian is prepared to play tomorrow, which is the most important thing right now,’ the Madrid boss said in his pre-match press conference.
‘I want to highlight the commitment he’s showing to the team, to his teammates. He’s trying to help us on the pitch. He’s a decisive player and he can decide a game in any moment.’
He added: ‘We’re definitely going to need him on Wednesday, and he’ll have a great game.’
The first leg of the Champions League play-off, which Madrid won 1-0, was overshadowed by claims of racism allegedly directed at Madrid winger Vinicius Junior by Benfica midfielder Gianluca Prestianni.
Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa said Mbappe will have a ‘great game’ despite the injury doubts
Prestianni is alleged to have directed the word ‘mono’ – Spanish for ‘monkey’ – at Vinicius after the Brazilian scored the opening goal of the first leg and danced in celebration.
The Argentine – who denies saying the racial slur – has been handed a provisional one-match ban by UEFA while investigations continue, but was pictured training inside the Bernabeu with his Benfica team-mates on Tuesday.
Mbappe was one of the most vocal critics of Prestianni in last week’s aftermath, claiming that he heard the Benfica player hurl the abuse at Vinicius.
‘It’s not the first time that Vini has experienced a case like this,’ Mbappe said after last week’s game.
‘There’s always people that defend it by saying that he talks, that he provokes. Has Vini provoked in his career? Possibly. Has he done bad things in his career? Possibly.
‘But he’s never going to deserve something like this. I can’t understand how there are people that tell me that he deserves this.
‘Those are people that have never experienced or will be never experience this and that’s why they speak like that.
‘I will never think that there is a human being who deserves this kind of treatment.’
