Real Madrid are unhappy with how France’s medical and coaching staff dealt with Mbappe over the last week, according to a report from Get French Football News citing L’Équipe. The Spanish club say they flagged the forward’s discomfort to their French counterparts and asked for him to be spared the trip to Turkey on 25 September.
Zidane, taking charge of France for the first time, still started him. Mbappe scored early in the second half with his right foot, felt something go in the left knee on the follow-through, tried to run it off and went down again. He was withdrawn in the 58th minute and France held on for a 1-0 win.
Zidane: “It’s not encouraging”
By full time, Zidane already knew the international window was over for his captain.
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t look good. I think he’ll have to go back,” Zidane told reporters after the match, according to The Star.
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“He has swelling in the knee. It’s not encouraging, so we’re not going to take any risks.”
Mbappe left the France hotel on Saturday morning and flew back to Madrid for scans. The French federation confirmed he would not be replaced in the squad and would miss the remaining Nations League fixtures against Belgium (home and away) and Italy.
The Madrid diagnosis: hyperextension, no return date
Real Madrid’s medical staff examined him on Saturday. Their official statement was deliberately tight: “After the tests carried out today on our player Kylian Mbappe by Real Madrid’s Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with a hyperextension of the posterior capsule of his left knee.”
No timetable was attached. Internally the club is working with a two-week window, which leaves the Villarreal fixture on 10 October in doubt.
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A recurring flashpoint
The fear inside Real Madrid was that a scheduled national-team match against a physical Turkey side was exactly the kind of fixture the forward could sit out with minimal fuss. The message, they say, was sent. It was not acted on.
France’s counter is on the pitch, not in the press: their captain reported for duty declaring himself fit to play, scored the goal that gave Zidane a winning debut, and was substituted the moment the staff saw a problem. There has been no public response from the federation to Madrid’s private complaints.
The next fixture on Real Madrid’s schedule after the international break is the trip to Villarreal on 10 October.
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