Real Madrid striker’s injury report:Why is Mbappé absent against Atlético

Real Madrid will once more be without Kylian Mbappé when they face Atlético Madrid in Thursday’s Spanish Super Cup semifinal in Saudi Arabia. The French forward has not recovered in time from a left knee sprain and has been left out as a precaution, despite Madrid’s push for silverware.

The injury was diagnosed in early December and has required careful management. Club medical staff have consistently warned that rushing Mbappé back could aggravate the problem and turn a minor sprain into a longer-term absence. After missing the LaLiga clash against Betis, he remains unavailable as Madrid open the year with back-to-back high-stakes fixtures.

Why Madrid are not taking risks with Mbappé

Mbappé has carried the knee issue for weeks, logging heavy minutes before finally being shut down. He has featured in nearly every game this season, a workload that left little room for recovery. While he has trained individually at times, Madrid’s decision for the Super Cup is clear: protect their most valuable attacker rather than gamble on a semifinal appearance. This is made more easy to swallow with Sunday’s goal scoring in his absence.

The expectation inside the club is that his return will be reassessed after the Super Cup, depending on how the knee responds to rest and controlled training.

Here’s the H2H between the two teams, thanks to Sofascore.

How Real Madrid are lining up without him

Under-pressure head coach Xabi Alonso is expected to repeat the setup that worked so convincingly in the 5-1 win over Betis. Gonzalo García is set to lead the line again, supported by Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo Goes, while Jude Bellingham, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Eduardo Camavinga anchor midfield.

Los Blancos are chasing their first trophy of the season, but they will have to do it without the player who has defined their campaign so far.