Ill: Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe’s Club World Cup campaign could be set for an early close after the Real Madrid striker was hospitalised with acute gastroenteritis.
The Frenchman did not feature in yesterday’s 1-1 draw with Al Hilal, deputised instead by Gonzalo García, who scored Los Blancos’ only goal on the day.
Real Madrid confirmed the news in a brief statement, which read: “Our player Kylian Mbappé has acute gastroenteritis and has been hospitalised for various tests and treatment.”
Head coach Xabi Alonso confirmed ahead of the Al Hilal match that Mbappe had been struggling with illness since arriving in the United States and missed Tuesday’s training session.
He said: “Kylian was feeling a little better [on Wednesday] morning, but not enough. It’s very hot and it was better that I didn’t train. But we will wait until the last moment. Tomorrow morning we will decide.”
The match was not the ideal start to Alonso’s Real Madrid return, 11 years on from representing them as a player. He will hope for Mbappe to return promptly, confirming pre-match that he would be a key source of goals for the club this season.
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“He is a dynamic striker, not positional, not in the box. The idea is not to have fixed players. Because Kylian is not a reference nine… but he is a number nine who scores a lot of goals.”
Mbappe played every minute of both of France’s Nations League matches in the June international break, a 5-4 loss to Spain and a 2-0 win over Germany. He recorded a goal and an assist in each match.
He scored 31 goals in 34 La Liga appearances for Real Madrid last season.
Los Blancos return to Club World Cup action on Sunday, facing Pachuca in Charlotte, North Carolina. Having dropped points in their opening tie, it is a must-win tie for Alonso’s men.