Kylian Mbappé to take his time after early Barça return, likely to miss Levante, Monaco a doubt | OneFootball

After returning early for the Spanish Super Cup final against Barça, Kylian Mbappé is now opting for caution.

According to L'Équipe, the Real Madrid forward has a left knee problem and insisted on playing in Sunday’s 2-3 defeat, returning before completing his recovery. He does not regret it, but will not take risks and should not feature against Levante at 14:00 on Saturday.

His knee is less painful, yet he is not ready for top level. He plans to return only when the discomfort has gone and he can play a full match. He will assess progress daily.

At Valdebebas, Álvaro Arbeloa and his staff have been checking in regularly. Mbappé will not accept another premature comeback, having taken that risk in Jeddah to try to help save Xabi Alonso. His roughly 20 minutes appear not to have worsened the injury despite a heavy tackle from Frenkie de Jong, who was sent off.

He played only 11 days after a knee MRI on 31 December, effectively halving the expected lay-off against recommendations from his entourage. He later understood it probably was not the best idea, though he does not regret having tried.

Arbeloa’s tenure began with a Copa del Rey exit at Albacete, 17th in the second tier, losing 2-3 on Wednesday. With a long season and major targets in mind, including a major club trophy and the World Cup with France, Mbappé could also miss Monaco in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Source: L'Équipe