Kylian Mbappe’s persistent left knee injury is the result of an original misdiagnosis, with Real Madrid having reportedly scanned his wrong leg at first.
Mbappe has been suffering with the issue since Real’s 2-0 home defeat by Celta Vigo in LaLiga on December 7.
The 27-year-old had scans to determine the severity of the issue but was cleared to play.
Still feeling pain, Mbappe featured in three games for Madrid before their winter break.
And that is when the Spanish giants realised their glaring error – they had somehow scanned the uninjured leg.
Mbappe then had a scan on the correct leg which showed a partial posterior knee ligament tear.
It is not known yet how such an error was made but reports in France claim that Mbappe has been left furious about it all, with members of Real’s medical team having since been sacked.
RMC journalist Daniel Riolo states that Mbappe’s correct diagnosis only came after he went to Paris for a second opinion.
‘It’s clear there was a mistake if the player decided to travel to Paris. I would say it’s because the diagnosis of Mbappe’s knee was so catastrophic, and undoubtedly worse than catastrophic, because it was a very serious error,’ Riolo said.
‘And that’s why they fired everyone, in addition to the string of injuries, but it was largely due to that.
‘It could have been very serious [Mbappe’s injury] because of a mistake. Because Mbappe spent time playing matches without knowing what was wrong. He could have torn his knee.
‘He continued playing and saw that it still hurt, but he knew something was wrong. Let me tell you something: the mistake was enormous, and that is that they examined his other knee.
‘Do you think I’m talking nonsense? That’s what happened. You’ll understand that if you’re playing with an injury and you don’t know it, you can seriously hurt yourself.’
The furore around Mbappe’s knee has been heightened by one of Real’s former nutritionists hitting out at how they operate.
Itziar Gonzalez didn’t hold back in her criticism following her short time at the Santiago Bernabeu outfit – claiming that they relied on the free version of ChatGPT to come to some conclusions.
‘I’ve said it before, but it’s very easy to humiliate me to protect these people who work here to be friends. The worst part is that they’re still here,’ she wrote on Instagram.
‘Although I don’t know what’s worse: this, or the fact that they prescribe supplements based on free ChatGPT results.’
On learning of the Mbappe diagnosis, she added: ‘Thank you, Kylian. I hope they recruit competent and educated people rather than ignorant, narcissistic, and well-connected individuals who only harm the guys.
Mbappe is away on international duty with France as they gear up for this summer’s World Cup with friendlies against Brazil on March 26 and Colombia on March 29.
Speaking at a promotional event in France, the forward insisted his knee is improving.
‘My knee is fine. It’s getting better,’ he told AS.
‘It’s going quite well, and I know there’s been a lot of speculation about it and some false things have been said.
‘It’s the life of a top athlete, and we’re used to people saying things without verifying them or having any basis in fact.’
