Mbappé Nears Return Ahead of El Clásico, But Remains Cautious for Spanish Super Cup Final

According to the latest report from France’s L’Équipe, this Sunday’s highly anticipated Spanish Super Cup final will feature a showdown between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Ahead of this high-profile El Clásico, Real Madrid is eager for their key forward Kylian Mbappé to recover in time and boost the team’s chances of claiming the title; however, the player himself is taking an extremely cautious approach to his return.

Tracing back the injury, Mbappé has been struggling with discomfort in his left knee since early December last year. This discomfort gradually affected his training and match performance, and on December 31, the club decided to halt all training activities for him, allowing him to focus entirely on recovery.

Real Madrid had previously announced the results of an MRI scan, confirming that Mbappé suffered a left knee sprain. At the time, the medical team estimated a recovery period of around three weeks. Surprisingly, after just 11 days of rest, the French star’s recovery exceeded expectations, bringing him very close to a potential return and officially raising the possibility of an early comeback.

Alonso revealed that Mbappé has made significant progress in his recovery and officially returned to training on Thursday. His physical feedback during training has been very positive, and based on his current fitness, he is now on par with other players who have made the squad, meeting the basic requirements to participate in matches.

Since the beginning of this week, Mbappé has further accelerated his recovery and conditioning. Every day, he arrives punctually at Real Madrid’s Valdebebas training complex and undergoes progressive rehabilitation exercises under the full supervision of professional fitness coaches and physiotherapists. Thanks to his excellent performance in Thursday’s training, the Real Madrid coaching staff, after comprehensive evaluation, decided to include him in the squad traveling to the Spanish Super Cup final.

After completing the final pre-match training session in Madrid on Friday morning, Mbappé flew to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia that afternoon, reuniting smoothly with the majority of the team who had arrived earlier.

However, Mbappé himself does not intend to take unnecessary risks with his comeback. He has stated that he will closely monitor his physical condition during training and preparations to avoid aggravating the injury. At the same time, he is highly motivated by the prospect of playing in the El Clásico and helping the team pursue their first title of the season. Therefore, he may choose to make a limited effort to play if his body allows, potentially even accepting local pain-blocking injections before the match. After this final, he is expected to return to a recovery period.

Regardless of whether Mbappé takes the field in the Spanish Super Cup final, Real Madrid has made it clear that they intend to rest him in the upcoming Copa del Rey match against Albacete. As for his availability for the next La Liga fixture against Levante, it remains uncertain and will depend on his ongoing recovery.