CNN Español
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Real Madrid does not win for disappointment. As if the end of 2025 had not been disappointing enough in terms of results and returns, the beginning of 2026 does not look like it will be much better. Merengue reported this Wednesday that the team’s figure, Frenchman Kylian Mbappé, begins the new year in the infirmary.
The French national team forward suffers from a sprain in his left knee, according to the medical part released by the Spanish club, where no estimated date of return to the fields is added.
For now, the striker will miss the duel against Betis on Sunday, valid for matchday 18 of the Spanish LaLiga, a complicated game against a team that is sixth in the standings and where the Madridistas will play already knowing the result of FC Barcelona, the tournament leader, who plays the Catalan classic against Espanyol on Saturday.
The headache could be worse for Madrid if Mbappé does not show improvement quickly, since next Thursday those from the capital must play for the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia against none other than their city rival, Simeone’s Atlético de Madrid.
A bad result in the competition could be a definitive slap in the face for Xabi Alonso, highly questioned by the whites’ last month, where they were four points behind Barcelona in LaLiga, and with direct qualification to the round of 16 of the Champions League hanging by a thread after the loss at home against Manchester City.
The Frenchman’s loss could not come at a worse time. After all, he is the team’s undisputed scorer, with 18 goals in the Spanish tournament, seven goals ahead of the second-place finisher. What’s more, he is the only Real Madrid player among the 10 highest scoring players in LaLiga. The next is Vinícius Jr., with five goals.
In Europe the equation is repeated. Mbappé has nine goals in six Champions League games, three more than Erling Haaland and Victor Osimhen. The dependence is so great that among all his teammates they barely managed to score four times, less than half of what the world champion scored in 2018.
Injuries are real karma for Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid: Thibaut Courtois, Dean Huijsen, Eder Militao, Franco Mastantuono, Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, David Alaba, Eduardo Camavinga, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ferland Mendy have already had to spend weeks in the infirmary during the middle of the season.
In addition to Madrid losing its absolute scorer and best player, it does not have too many names for replacement. In fact, Merengue made official a few days ago the loan of Brazilian Endrick, who had been used by Xabi Alonso in several games. That, added to the fact that Florentino Pérez is not a regular at looking for reinforcements in the January transfer markets (and it seems that this will not be the exception) can cost a team with problems dearly.
