Real Madrid won’t have Kylian Mbappé on Saturday against Levante in the 20th round of La Liga, and the decision, revealed by French newspaper L’Équipe, goes beyond simple medical caution. Even with reduced knee pain and full participation in Thursday’s training session, the forward still isn’t in ideal condition to take the field. At a delicate moment for the club, holding him back is about avoiding yet another problem when the situation is already unstable enough.
The week at Real Madrid carries the fresh weight of the loss to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final, the dismissal of Xabi Alonso, and elimination from the Copa del Rey. Mbappé, in fact, only came on for the final 20 minutes of the decision against Barça and, days later, was rested for the match against Albacete. Now, the coaching staff prefers not to take that risk again. According to L’Équipe, the club’s focus is clear, to have the No. 7 fully fit for the clash with Monaco next Tuesday in a decisive round of the Champions League league phase.
Mbappé out now to be fully ready later
The Frenchman has shown clinical improvement, but the knee discomfort is still there, and at Real Madrid, details like that matter. Forcing his return in a domestic league match against a theoretically weaker opponent isn’t part of the plan right now. The club understands that losing Mbappé for weeks would be far more damaging than keeping him out for one more game.
In training, while Mbappé worked normally with the group, the starters from the Albacete match focused on recovery sessions. The rest of the squad split time between the gym and the field. Militão, Mendy, and Alexander-Arnold are still in the recovery process from their injuries, which also directly impacts the coaching staff’s decisions.
A pressured Real Madrid, but still alive
Despite the outside noise, Real Madrid remains competitive on its main fronts. In La Liga, the team sits in second place with 45 points, four behind Barcelona. The gap is uncomfortable, but it still leaves room to respond. In the Champions League, the club is seventh with 12 points, currently inside the qualification zone for the round of 16.
Mbappé’s absence against Levante, therefore, doesn’t signal weakness, but damage control. Real knows the season is starting to be decided now, and gambling on Mbappé at less than full strength would be a mistake that would be hard to fix later.