Kylian Mbappe will miss Sunday night's El Clasico after the Real Madrid star left the training pitch on Saturday - citing discomfort in his hamstring.
The Frenchman has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons recently as millions sign a petition calling for him to keep booted out of the club. Real's season looks set to end without a trophy whilst Barcelona are closing in on another La Liga title.
Real could at least get one over on their rivals at the Nou Camp, but if they are to do so then Marca claims they will have to do it without their World Cup winner. The 27-year-old stunned his team-mates by pulling up during training, announcing his issue and walking off. Los Blancos have released their squad list for the heavyweight clash tonight, but it only included four forwards, none of which are Mbappe. It leaves Vinicius Jr as their leading light in attack.
Mbappe has been the subject of widespread criticism from the Bernabeu supporters after he chose to go on a yacht holiday with his new girlfriend while recovering from his hamstring injury. The petition calling for the club to sell him this summer has landed a staggering 70millions of signatures.
Mbappe has scored 41 goals in all competitions this term and found the net for the opening goal when Real beat Barcelona 2-1 earlier this season. However a recent blip has seen them win only five of their last ten La Liga games.
The Spanish giants come into the Clasico following a bust up involving Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni. The duo were involved in a shocking dressing room row with the Uruguayan left with a cut his head and needing hospital treatment. Both players were fined €500,000 for their roles in the controversy.
Alvaro Arbeloa, who is set to be moved on in the summer, said: “Valverde and Tchouameni deserve for us to move on, to give them a chance to keep fighting for this club. I’m very proud of them. I won’t allow this to be used to question their professionalism."
The Real boss also hit out at the leak from within the club. “The most serious thing for me, what hurts me most, is that what happens in the Real Madrid dressing room should stay there,” he added. “If things that happen in the dressing room are leaked, I think it’s a betrayal of Real Madrid and what this badge represents."
