[Saba Sports News] According to Spanish media reports, Kylian Mbappé will miss matches in early 2026 due to a left knee sprain, and he is highly likely to miss the upcoming Spanish Super Cup. Although this injury was officially announced this Wednesday, in reality, Mbappé has been troubled by it for a month. The reports suggest that the underlying cause of this situation is Mbappé’s almost obsessive desire to break Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for most goals in a calendar year set during his time at Real Madrid.
Before a crucial Champions League match against Manchester City, Mbappé missed training due to knee discomfort and ultimately did not play in the match, which led to Real Madrid’s defeat. However, fans were angered and confused when just four days after missing the Champions League match, Mbappé played the full match against Alavés in La Liga. Even more astonishingly, three days later, he started and played the full 90 minutes in the Copa del Rey against lower-league team Talavera.
There are widespread questions as to why his physical condition allowed him to complete these matches against relatively weaker opponents but led him to forgo the crucial match against Manchester City. It is understood that since then, Mbappé has been playing through knee pain in order to boost his stats. Ultimately, in the season finale against Sevilla in 2025, he scored a penalty, marking his 59th goal of the year and achieving his goal of tying the record, even mimicking Ronaldo’s iconic celebration.