Kylian Mbappe’s knee injury is expected to keep him out for around two weeks after the France captain suffered a hyperextension of his left knee during the 1-0 win over Turkiye.
Real Madrid said medical tests had diagnosed “a hyperextension of the posterior capsule of his left knee”. The forward could return in time for the club’s La Liga meeting with Barcelona on October 25.
Mbappe opened the scoring at Kocaeli Stadium in Izmit on Friday, but appeared to be in pain as teammates celebrated his 67th goal for France. He attempted to continue after receiving treatment before eventually going down and being replaced by Desire Doue.
France head coach Zinedine Zidane said the team would “not going to take any risks” with the striker. Mbappe will therefore miss France’s three Nations League matches 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 fixture after the international break is against Villarreal on October 10, which may come too soon for Mbappe. However, he is expected to be fit for the Clasico against Barcelona later in the month.
