© Lee Smith/Imagn
There is perhaps no bigger club in world soccer than Spanish giants Real Madrid. But even Los Galácticos, with all their money, resources, and superstars, are prone to the occasional ridiculous mistake.
In this case, it nearly had a majorly negative effect on the career of star striker Kylian Mbappe.
According to a story published by Guillermo Rai and Mario Cortegana of The Athletic, Real Madrid misdiagnosed a knee injury to the 27-year-old French superstar in early December when it accidentally scanned the wrong knee during an MRI.
Mbappe, who had been dealing with pain in his left knee, underwent the imaging procedure, but then returned for three games after the MRI readings came back clean.
It was only after that point, with pain continuing, that the club and its doctors realized their mistake.
Mbappe then underwent further testing and imaging on the correct leg that showed a partial posterior knee ligament tear. On December 31, Real Madrid released a medical report revealing the injury, although they defined it only as a knee sprain.
The French superstar missed two weeks, which ultimately led to the firing of manager Xabi Alonso, before returning in mid-January. He played in eight of the team’s next 10 matches, scoring nine goals in the process.
“We’re taking it day by day,” interim manager Arvelo Arbeloa said of Mbappe’s fitness before a home match against Getafe on March 2. “It depends on how he’s feeling. We want him back at 100 per cent.”
Since then, Mbappe has played in the majority of Madrid’s games, with a team doctor stating that if he doesn’t feel pain, he’s not at risk of furthering the injury.
But the leading scorer in La Liga is also the biggest star for the French national team, which is hoping to win another World Cup in 2026 after winning in 2018 and reaching the finals in 2022 before losing on penalty kicks to Argentina.
So both Real Madrid and France will want to be wary about his usage over the next few months.