Kylian Mbappe’s knee injury to keep him out for two weeks

Mbappe suffers a hyperextension of his left knee against Turkiye but is expected to be fit to face Barcelona in El Clasico.

France captain Kylian Mbappe has suffered a hyperextension of his left knee while playing for France, his club Real Madrid says, but the forward could be ready to play again when La Liga resumes.

“Following tests carried out today by Real Madrid’s medical department on our player Kylian Mbappe, he has been diagnosed with a hyperextension of the posterior capsule of his left knee,” the Spanish club said in a statement on Saturday.

The forward left the pitch shortly after opening the scoring in a 1-0 French win against Turkiye on Friday. He winced in pain as his teammates came across to celebrate the goal, his 67th for France, at Kocaeli Stadium in Izmit, about 100km (60 miles) southeast of Istanbul.

Mbappe tried to carry on after receiving treatment but eventually slumped to the ground and looked concerned as he prodded the outside of his left knee before walking off to be replaced by Desire Doue.

New coach Zinedine Zidane said France were “not going to take any risks” and he would not use Mbappe in the three Nations League matches scheduled over the next 10 days.

France travel to Belgium on Monday before hosting Italy and Belgium at the Stade de France on October 2 and 5.

Real Madrid’s first game after the international break against Villarreal on October 10 might be too soon for a Mbappe return, but Spanish daily AS reported on Saturday that he would certainly be ready for the Clasico with Barcelona on October 25.