Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that striker Kylian Mbappe was on track to recover from his injury and was expected to face Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday.
Mbappe, who missed Madrid’s 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday in La Liga, had also been ruled out of the upcoming visit to Getafe on Wednesday. The French forward had sustained an ankle problem during Madrid’s elimination from the Champions League by Arsenal the previous week. However, both Mbappe and compatriot Ferland Mendy were anticipated to be fit in time for the highly anticipated Clasico.
Ancelotti told a news conference on Tuesday, "For tomorrow’s game they will not be ready, but they will train on these days, and I think they will be available for the game on Saturday."
During Madrid’s narrow victory against Athletic, Mbappe was shown on screens at the Santiago Bernabeu, but was met with whistles from some Madrid fans. The win kept Madrid four points behind league leaders Barcelona in the title race.
Ancelotti expressed empathy for the forward, adding, "Mbappe is hurting because of his injury, because he cannot help the team – he's doing everything he can to be ready for Saturday."
Without Mbappe, Madrid's top scorer this season with 33 goals, the team had opted for a more solid defensive approach, using an extra midfielder in the absence of their star forward.
"I think the problems we have had this season have been quite evident," Ancelotti remarked. "We have changed the way we play a bit because we have players with different characteristics. We’ve found it difficult to find this balance, and I hope we can find it in the run-in, because we’ve got a lot on the line... in the games that are left, if we don’t have it, it will be hard to win."
