Knee Tendon Injury: Mbappé Faces Lengthy Absence After Turkey-France

Kylian Mbappé left the pitch injured during France’s 0-1 victory over Turkey on Friday evening in the Nations League, and the diagnosis is concerning. The French Football Federation (FFF) confirmed in a statement that the Real Madrid striker is suffering from “a tendon injury” to his left knee, sustained at the moment he scored. He will not participate further in this international break.

Mbappé was injured around the hour mark, on his standing leg at the moment of the shot, before jogging a few metres and then stopping abruptly. The exact nature of the injury — quadriceps tendon, hamstring or patellar tendon — has not yet been officially specified, and the length of his absence remains to be determined following further medical examinations.

A physical trainer and physiotherapist experienced in elite sport, contacted by L’Équipe, offered an initial cautious but concerning analysis. “If it’s a tendon injury, it can take a long time. It all depends on the grade of the damage, whether it’s a small tear or a significant tendon injury that can be complicated to rehabilitate,” he explained, stressing that tendons heal more slowly than muscle due to reduced blood supply.

The specialist pointed more specifically to the patellar tendon given the mechanism of the injury. “He shoots, takes two or three steps and suddenly stops, as if the injury happened just during the shot on his standing leg. Then, as he jogs back, he feels a stabbing pain in the tendon. That’s why I think it’s the patellar tendon. And that can really be complicated in that case,” he added.

The injury comes during Zinedine Zidane’s first match on the France bench, immediately casting a shadow over the start of his tenure. For Real Madrid, concern is also mounting: the Madrid club now awaits the results of medical examinations to assess the true length of its striker’s absence.