Kylian Mbappé will not be in the Classic. Real Madrid confirmed its call-up for the duel against Barcelona at the Camp Nou and the name of the French striker does not appear on the list of Álvaro Arbeloa, who could not count on him as he did not fully recover from the injury to the semitendinosus muscle in his left leg.
Mbappé had generated some hope by passing medical tests and completing training on Friday, but on Saturday he was unable to repeat the field work with the group and was finally ruled out for the second consecutive game.
The Frenchman’s absence occurs in the middle of a week full of controversy. His trip to Sardinia with his partner during the recovery process and the image of leaving Valdebebas laughing on Thursday, in the midst of the scandal over the fight between Valverde and Tchouaméni, generated criticism in the merengue environment. Coach Arbeloa came to his defense. “If you want to decontextualize the fact that a player comes out laughing after a training session, you want to take advantage of an opportunity to put things out of place. All of us Madrid fans know the effort he made to come to Real Madrid.”said the strategist.
Mbappé joins a list of eight casualties that makes this Classic one of the most complicated in terms of player availability for the merengue team. Federico Valverde will not be there due to the head trauma suffered after the fight with Tchouaméni in Valdebebas, while Rodrygo, Militao, Mendy, Güler, Carvajal and Ceballos are also absent. The only good news for Arbeloa is the return of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who recovered from his muscle injury and is expected to start at the Camp Nou.
A Classic with everything at stake
Real Madrid only needs to win to prevent Barcelona from mathematically becoming LaLiga champions at the Camp Nou. If the Catalans achieve at least a draw this Sunday they will mathematically be champions, in what would be a historic moment for Spanish football as it will be the first time that a team celebrates the title in a Clásico. Arbeloa will seek to avoid the culé party with a limited squad and at a time of maximum internal tension after several scandals in recent weeks.