Real Madrid have been left embarrassed after it emerged that the club scanned Kylian Mbappe's wrong knee during a botched injury assessment. The France captain, 27, had been experiencing pain in his left knee in early December, but an MRI was mistakenly performed on his right knee instead, leading to a delayed diagnosis.
The error meant Mbappe's problem went untreated for weeks. He was an unused substitute in Real's 2-1 Champions League loss to Manchester City before playing through the pain in subsequent matches. The forward later missed five games while the issue was finally rectified, with Spanish newspaper El Mundo reporting that no medical staff were sacked, though Niko Mihic returned as head of first-team medical services.
Mbappe has since returned to fitness, making two substitute appearances before the international break. Speaking in Paris, he admitted: 'There was a lot of frustration, a lot of anger, and then also some anxiety at one point. I had reached a stage where I didn't know what was wrong with me.' He added that he was cautious to avoid a relapse.
The incident is the latest in a series of knee problems at Real Madrid, with Rodrygo recently becoming the seventh player to suffer an ACL injury since 2023, ruling him out for the rest of the season and the World Cup. Mbappe, meanwhile, is set to feature for France this week as he puts the episode behind him.
