What injury does Kylian Mbappe have? What to know about knee issue that could leave Real Madrid, France star out weeks originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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There is no doubt that Kylian Mbappe is one of the best football players in the world.
In 2025/26, the forward leads both the La Liga top goal-scorers table and the Champions League top goal-scorers table, both by considerable margins as of February 25. In fact, in the Champions League, Mbappe is hoping to break Cristiano Ronaldo’s all-time single-season record.
So, when Mbappe doesn’t appear on the field, the football community takes notice, especially with the World Cup looming this summer and France hoping to have their superstar forward fit and ready to lead them to glory.
More immediately, Real Madrid will hope his absence is not too keenly felt when they take on Manchester City in their Champions League Round of 16 matchup.
The Sporting News looks at Mbappe’s nagging injury, how it has affected him so far, and whether it will threaten to keep him out for a longer time than initially anticipated.
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For weeks, all we knew about Mbappe’s injury is that it has been chalked up to “knee soreness” and “knee pain.”
Little else had been revealed about an injury that has kept him sidelined at various points this season, though never for terribly long in one stretch.
Finally, on March 2, Real Madrid released a medical report to state that Mbappe had been diagnosed with a sprain of his left knee. While that is a vague medical term, it still is more tangible than previously indicated.
Real Madrid presumably know more precise details about Mbappe’s knee than they are letting on, figuring as long as he keeps himself fit for most games, there is no need to publicly reveal more than necessary.
For now, it’s unclear how long Mbappe will be absent, but there is no indication at this point to suggest he will miss more than just one or two games as he has before when his knee pain flared up.
Mbappe was absent from the second leg against Benfica in the Champions League knockout playoff match, and is ruled out of their game on March 2 against Getafe.
There are suggestions that Mbappe could be out for a number of weeks, with three weeks being the most commonly floated timeline by Spanish media. Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa has indicated that he will not return until he has worked back to full fitness from his knee injury.
“We are very clear,” Arbeloa said of the Mbappe injury. “What is happening to him, what has been happening to him and what we want now, which is that he fully recovers from these discomforts and can return to 100% with the maximum confidence, and with the greatest possible security when he is fully recovered and those small discomforts disappear.
“We will see day by day. It’s a matter of him seeing how he is feeling, how he is recovering, what evolution is like. Right now it’s better not to give deadlines because they are discomforts that we have to go day by day and that he sees his feelings, how he feels. And based on that, we will decide. We want him to return to 100%, and when that happens, he will return.”
His absence from the second leg against Benfica marked just the sixth match that Mbappe has not appeared in for Real Madrid this season.
In two of those games, he was named to the squad but did not see the field, while he was out of the matchday squad entirely on four occasions.
If Mbappe does miss three weeks as suggested by Spanish media, it would leave him out of both legs against Manchester City in the Champions League plus league matches against Getafe, Celta Vigo, and Elche. There is a chance he misses out on the Madrid derby against Atletico Madrid on March 17, and a France friendly against Brazil on March 26.
DateCompetitionMatchReasonDec. 10, 2025Champions LeagueReal Madrid 1-2 Man CityUnused substituteJan. 4, 2026La LigaReal Madrid 5-1 Real BetisOut — Knee sorenessJan. 8, 2026Supercopa de EspanaAtletico Madrid 1-2 Real MadridOut — Knee sorenessJan. 14, 2026Copa del ReyAlbacete 3-2 Real MadridOut — Knee sorenessFeb. 14, 2026La LigaReal Madrid 4-1 Real SociedadUnused substituteFeb. 25, 2026Champions LeagueReal Madrid 2-1 BenficaOut — Knee soreness
DateCompetitionMatchMon, Mar. 1La LigaReal Madrid vs. GetafeFri, Mar. 6La LigaCelta Vigo vs. Real MadridWed, Mar. 11Champions LeagueReal Madrid vs. Man CitySat, Mar. 14La LigaReal Madrid vs. ElcheTue, Mar. 17Champions LeagueMan City vs. Real MadridSun, Mar. 22La LigaReal Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid
Without knowing the extent of Mbappe’s injury, it’s impossible to say whether he will need surgery.
However, it does feel as though the likelihood of a procedure to correct an injury at some point grows larger the longer the issue lingers.
With the 2026 World Cup coming up this summer, and Mbappe certainly hoping to stay fit enough to take part in that event as France gun for a title, there will be questions asked about whether he will have to sacrifice availability for his club in order to prove fit enough to participate in the FIFA showcase for Les Bleus.
