MADRID : Kylian Mbappe missed most of Real Madrid’s team training session on Tuesday ahead of their Spanish derby clash at Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie due to muscle discomfort, club sources said.
Mbappe stayed inside the club’s facilities doing individual work and club officials said he joined the group during the final 30 minutes of training and his availability for Wednesday’s derby was not in danger.
Real Madrid will have a narrow advantage when they visit their old rivals after grabbing a hard-fought 2-1 win at Santiago Bernabeu last week.
Mbappe’s fitness has been a major question mark since he missed their Spanish Cup clash at Real Sociedad two weeks ago after having a tooth removed.
Since then he has produced lacklustre performances in three consecutive matches, scoring just once while he was substituted in two of those games.
Real manager Carlo Ancelotti has been bombarded with questions about his star forward’s form and has vehemently denied that Mbappe is struggling with an undisclosed injury but dodged questions about his starting team for Wednesday.
“I have more than eleven players for this match, those who don’t play will also contribute in some shape or form… A well-made change can make a difference,” Ancelotti told a press conference on Tuesday.
“A derby is always a very close game. Sometimes we win and sometimes they win. Tomorrow it will be the same. It will be decided by small details. That’s what’s going to happen tomorrow.
“The goal is that we want to play in the quarter-finals whoever our players are. Rehearsing penalties is difficult, but we are not thinking about that at the moment. We’re thinking about how to play the game well…”
