‘Not very encouraging’: Mbappe to return to Madrid as injury leaves France, Real anxious

Kylian Mbappe's knee injury has cast a shadow over Zinedine Zidane's successful debut as France coach and could prove a major blow to Real Madrid's hopes of reviving their fortunes this season.

Mbappe scored the only goal as France began their Nations League campaign with a 1-0 win over Turkey on Friday, but the Real Madrid superstar was forced off shortly afterwards after suffering a knee injury.

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The France captain received treatment immediately after scoring and briefly returned to the pitch, only to go down again about a minute later. He was replaced by Desire Doue in the 58th minute, leaving France and Real Madrid anxiously awaiting the extent of the injury.

The French Football Federation said Mbappe was suffering from a "knee tendon injury" and would return to Madrid for treatment.

"It's not great. Unfortunately, I think he's going to have to go home. We don't want to take any risks," Zidane told broadcaster TF1. "He overextended his knee while shooting. It's not very encouraging."

The injury comes at an awkward time for both France and Real, with Les Bleus facing three more matches over the next 10 days before the club season resumes.

Mbappe's absence could be particularly significant for Real, who are seeking a revival after two underwhelming seasons. The Spanish giants can ill-afford to lose their star forward at a time when their domestic campaign has already fallen behind expectations.

Jose Mourinho's side are six points behind defending champions Barcelona in LaLiga and went into the international break on the back of a 2-1 defeat away to Atletico Madrid, where Dean Huijsen's red card helped turn the derby against them.

Mbappe, meanwhile, had been central to Real's attack and his goals will be crucial to any attempt to close the gap at the top of the table. A prolonged absence would therefore leave the club facing another setback just as they seek to re-establish themselves as Spain's leading force.

For France, Mbappe's injury overshadowed an otherwise encouraging opening night for Zidane, who returned to elite coaching for the first time since his second stint at Real ended in 2021.

The 27-year-old was deployed on the left wing by Zidane, having operated through the middle under former France coach Didier Deschamps at the World Cup, where he finished as the tournament's top scorer with 10 goals.

The country's all-time leading scorer, Mbappe, found the net for the 67th time for France yesterday after controlling Michael Olise's pass before firing a low shot into the near post, but winced in pain as his teammates celebrated around him.

"It was a really emotional night but it was a successful debut in difficult surroundings. I think we played rather well. I saw a lot of interesting things, considering we have only had three and a half training sessions together. It's quite encouraging," Zidane said.

France next travel to Brussels to face Belgium on Monday before hosting Italy next Friday, but the focus will now be on Mbappe's knee and how long he could be sidelined.

For Zidane and France, the immediate concern is avoiding further risk to their captain. For Real, the hope will be that the injury is minor enough not to disrupt their attempt to recover lost ground this season.