Kylian Mbappe ruled out of Real Madrid’s crunch reunion with Benfica in Champions League | OneFootball

Kylian Mbappe will miss Real Madrid’s Champions League play-off second leg with Benfica with injury.

Madrid are leading 1-0 after a fractious first leg in Lisbon which saw goalscorer Vinicius Jr accused Benfica’s Argentine winger Gianluca Prestianni of racist abuse.

Prestianni has been suspended for one game – the second leg – pending an investigation by Uefa. The 20-year-old has denied racially abusing Vinicius and claimed to have been misheard.

Mbappe backed up Vinicius’s claim of hearing Prestianni use racist language, adding: Prestianni shouldn’t come to the Bernabeu, the best stadium in the world, he doesn't deserve it, he shouldn't play.”

Prestianni trained with his teammates on the Bernabeu pitch on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s match, but will not be able to take part in the game unless Benfica’s appeal against his suspension is upheld.

And Mbappe will also miss the match with a knee injury. The France captain has been nursing a knee problem which has kept him out of several matches over the past three months.

Jude Bellingham remains unavailable due to a hamstring injury, while forward Rodrygo is serving a two-match suspension for insulting a match official during the 4–2 loss to Benfica in the group stage.