With a knee injury, Mbappé set to miss Real Madrid v Benfica

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·24 febbraio 2026

With a knee injury, Mbappé set to miss Real Madrid v Benfica

The French striker for Real Madrid, Kylian Mbappé, with a left knee injury, will be out of the second leg of the Champions League playoffs against Benfica on Wednesday, according to information obtained by AFP this Tuesday, citing a source close to the squad.

The current top scorer of LaLiga and the Champions League has been struggling for several weeks with a lateral ligament injury in his left knee. Despite the pain, the captain of the French national team had been playing regularly, but will be forced to miss the second leg against Benfica (Real Madrid won the first leg 1-0 in Lisbon), according to the source, who confirmed a report by L’Équipe, without specifying the recovery time.

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Real Madrid was contacted by AFP, but has not yet commented.

“Kylian is ready to play on Wednesday and that’s the most important thing. Everyone has known this for a few weeks now. And I would like to highlight the dedication he has shown,” said Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa to the press on Tuesday, referring to the captain of the French national team, before the announcement of his absence.

“It’s important to emphasize Kylian’s immense effort and the fact that he tries to help us on the field. I think every defender who faces him knows that, in any situation, he can decide the game,” he added.

The decision not to field Kylian Mbappé was made after training and the press conference before the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 playoffs.

According to another source close to the locker room, the initial plan was for the number 10 “to make every effort to play,” but the final decision was to rest him, despite the qualification for the Champions League round of 16 being at stake.

By AFP*

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.