Real Madrid star not called up for NT duty amidst fitness concerns, unlikely to play vs Villarreal

Real Madrid suffered their first loss of the new season last night with a narrow 0-1 defeat to Lille in the UEFA Champions League.

A lot went wrong for Los Blancos at Stade Pierre Mauroy, one of which was the dysfunctional forward department. Kylian Mbappe’s lack of complete fitness was one of the several factors.

The Frenchman made it to the squad to travel to France despite being injured late last month as he reportedly recovered ahead of time. He did not start the game last night and was a shadow of himself in his short cameo.

Still not recovered

While Mbappe did make his return to the field, it is clear that he is still not at 100% and Real Madrid thus prefer to exercise caution over his situation.

Now, as revealed by L’Equipe, the World Cup winner is thus not expected to participate in the team’s clash against Villarreal on Saturday as far as the immediate future is concerned.

This comes after he was ommitted by Didier Deschamps for France’s upcoming games in the international break keeping his fitness in mind.

Deschamps, Real Madrid and the player himself prefer that he takes the required rest and returns to complete fitness rather than a hasty return to the field. He will thus stay back in Madrid during the hiatus and continue working on his fitness.

All signs indicate that Mbappe will next play only against Celta Vigo later this month, leaving Carlo Ancelotti in a tricky situation, especially given the team’s run of form.

Coming off a draw and a defeat, the manager will have his work cut out in finding a means to cover the talisman’s absence and return to winning ways this weekend.