Carlo Ancelotti confirms whether Kylian Mbappe will play for Real Madrid against Rayo Vallecano after picking up injury in Champions League
Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that Kylian Mbappe will not be available for Real Madrid’s La Liga clash against Rayo Vallecano tomorrow, December 14. A few hours ago, it was reported that Mbappe will be out of action for 10 days after he picked up an injury against Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Real Madrid will travel to Estadio de Vallecas tomorrow for their 17th league game of the 2024-25 campaign. A win against Rayo Vallecano could see them temporarily go past their archrivals Barcelona, who are scheduled to play on Sunday. While Kylian Mbappe is yet to meet the expectations of fans, his goal-scoring form has been quite impressive as he currently sits in the fourth position on the La Liga goal-scoring charts with nine goals.
In the pre-match conference of Real Madrid’s match with Rayo Vallecano, Ancelotti provided the availability update of Mbappe. He said (via Madrid Universal):
“Kylian is not serious, he won’t be here tomorrow, but he will travel to Qatar and there, we will assess the risk. Camavinga is fine. He’s available for tomorrow.”
When Ancelotti was asked whether Mbappe’s injury is a cause for concern, he said:
“It’s a difficult thing. In the last few breaks he’s been here, resting, working… you don’t know. Fortunately he’ll only be out for a small period and he won’t lose what he’s achieved in recent times.”
When Carlo Ancelotti refused to accept Kylian Mbappe’s criticisms for Real Madrid's struggles
In November, the Real Madrid boss leapt to the defense of Kylian Mbappe after he was widely criticized for the team’s struggles. Mbappé’s move to Los Blancos was expected to increase the levels of attacking strength of the club, but it seemed like the team had been struggling upfront. Most of the criticism consequently fell on the Frenchman given the high-profile arrival.
Ancelotti, however, countered the criticism and said it’s a 'collective problem'. He said via (Eurosport):
"Mbappe's problem is the same as for all of us. The idea is to try to find the best version of ourselves: from him, from myself, from the other players. We don't consider it an individual problem for a player who, among other things, is new here, is adapting, has scored eight goals [in La Liga and Champions League] and has participated in our attacking game with assists. We can all do better.
"[Mbappe] isn't depressed, he's aware that he has to do better," Ancelotti said. "Many of my players have missed penalties. We have to continue to support and help. It's a collective problem and not an individual one."