Real Madrid Suffer Mbappe, Bellingham Injury Blows
Real Madrid are expected to be without the duo of Kylian Mbappe, and Jude Bellingham ahead of their Copa Del Rey quarter-final clash against Leganes on Wednesday.
Ancelotti’s men will be without two of their key players, who have played a vital role in their revival following a poor start to the 2024-25 season.
Mbappe has scored 21 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid since joining the club in the summer from PSG.
Bellingham has recovered from a poor start to the season with 10 goals so far in all competitions.
The Italian manager confirmed that Mbappe suffered a bruise on his calf, while Bellingham is out with a knock.
Ancelotti said: “Bellingham had a bruise from a knock and will not be available. Vinicius Jr. has been given an extra day to recover, but will be available for tomorrow.
“Mbappe trained today. He has a bruise on his calf. He trained normally today, but he won’t be available for the game tomorrow.”
The duo joined midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, defenders David Alaba and Antonio Rudiger as well as other long-term injury casualties Eder Militao, and Dani Carvajal on the treatment table.
Real Madrid suffered a disappointing 1-0 loss to Espanyol on Saturday, dealing a major blow to their title aspirations. However, the match was marred with controversial refereeing decisions.
The club’s board wrote a letter to the Spanish football federation (RFEF), and Sports Ministry (CSD) on Monday, complaining bitterly about the officiating in the encounter.
The referee failed to send off Espanyol defender Carlos Romerofor a dangerous challenge on Kylian Mbappe before he went on to score the winning goal.
Ancelotti revealed that the complaint is a chance for a change following the consistent questionable calls against the club.
He said: “It’s the moment to change something. If they don’t give an explanation, that means there’s a problem, and when there’s a problem, something has to change.
“It could be an opportunity to change something. Everybody complains, and that means that nobody is happy. So it could be an opportunity to change things.
He also rued the club’s injury crisis after David Alaba suffered a relapse, and Rudiger was ruled out for three weeks.
Ancelotti said: “Unfortunately in the last two days we’ve lost two important players, that’s something we hadn’t considered.
“Alaba was going to play tomorrow, because he was feeling good… It’s an emergency moment we have to deal with. The return of Alaba is delayed by 15 to 20 days, and Rüdiger too. We’ll deal with it, we have [youngster] Jacobo [Ramón] coming back, who can contribute too.”
Real Madrid are one point ahead of rivals Atletico Madrid after 22 matches.
Real Madrid Suffer Mbappe, Bellingham Injury Blows is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
