Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe has been ruled out of Saturday afternoon’s La Liga clash against relegation-battling Levante at Santiago Bernabeu, according to L’Equipe.
It marks another difficult turn in Madrid’s rollercoaster campaign and also comes after their shocking Copa del Rey exit against relegation-threatened second-tier outfit Albacete Balompie.
Los Blancos will be hoping to get back to winning ways this weekend, but will have to do so without Mbappe, who hasn’t fully recovered from the discomfort in his left knee.
The Frenchman isn’t fit enough to play a part against Levante, and the club are unwilling to take any unnecessary risks to avoid making the injury any worse.
Mbappe has tried to play through the pain over the past few weeks.
He came on for the final 15 minutes in the 3-2 Supercopa de Espana final defeat against Barcelona, but was left out of the squad that lost to Albacete.
Mbappe trained with the rest of the Madrid squad at Valdebebas on Thursday and appeared to be moving well, but still feels a little discomfort in the knee.
The French international is Madrid’s top scorer this season, racking up 29 goals in 28 games across all competitions. He’s also the top scorer in La Liga, with 18 goals in as many games.
Madrid are four points behind Barca in the La Liga title race and will need Mbappe firing on all cylinders to boost their chances of overtaking their arch rivals in the second half of the season.
Giving him a breather against a lowly Levante side is the ideal move, especially with academy graduate Gonzalo Garcia proving he can step up to the task in Mbappe’s absence.
This won’t be the first time a knee issue has kept Mbappe out of Madrid’s starting line-up after missing the 5-1 win against Real Betis in the 2026 curtain-raiser.
Reports also claim that Mbappe could miss the following Champions League clash against AS Monaco, but should return for the league game against Villarreal at Estadio de la Ceramica.
