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Mbappé avoids surgery: relief in Madrid, France already living without him
No surgery for Mbappé’s left knee: conservative treatment and 10 to 12 days out, AS reports. Real Madrid breathe out; France have been managing without him all week.
by Lucas Morel · 2 min read
Friday night in Türkiye, Kylian Mbappé scored the first goal of the Zidane era, then hurt his left knee just after the hour. He tried to run it off, finally gave way, and Désiré Doué came on. Zidane settled the matter after the final whistle: no risk would be taken, his striker was heading back to Madrid and would miss the rest of the window.
Real Madrid escaped the worst
Saturday’s scans at Valdebebas diagnosed “a hyperextension of the posterior capsule of the left knee”, the club announced, promising to monitor him “closely” without a timetable. RMC Sport reported at the time a fear of a cruciate ligament rupture, the sort of injury that wrecks a season. On Tuesday, AS brought the answer: no operation, conservative treatment, 10 to 12 days out. The Madrid daily writes that had he carried on playing, Mbappé “would have run a high risk of suffering a very serious injury”. The club has praised the way France’s medical staff handled the case and sent him home quickly.
France and the market had moved on
Out for the whole window, he already missed Monday’s game in Belgium, where Olise broke the deadlock in the 88th minute. Two fixtures left without him: France v Italy this Friday at the Stade de France, then France v Belgium on 5 October. Zidane’s side top the group with six points, two wins by the same score: with their number 9 in Türkiye, without him in Belgium.
For the bettor, Tuesday’s news changes nothing: the market has known since 26 September that the Bleus would finish the window without their centre-forward. France are 1.47 at Betano, from an opening 1.50: still the side that wins tight.
The only open question lies in Spain. Mbappé has been recovering at Valdebebas since Monday, and AS expects him back against Villarreal on 10 October at the Bernabéu. Mourinho could still preserve him, with AS Roma in the Champions League on the 14th and the Clásico on the 25th; the paper calls that return very tight. Our France v Italy prediction runs through Friday’s odds. Nothing to bet on a press release: 18+. Only bet what you can afford to lose.