Kylian Mbappe’s brief Paris trip raises fresh questions over Real Madrid return

Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe travelled to Paris on Tuesday after completing around an hour of training at the club’s Valdebebas training centre, according to Spanish television programme El Chiringuito.

The France international had returned to training in Madrid following a controversial international break. He worked for approximately 60 minutes at Real’s facilities before boarding a private plane to the French capital.

Mbappe spent the day in Paris and returned to Spain at about 21:00 Spanish time, the report said.

The journey has renewed scrutiny of the circumstances surrounding his recovery from injury. Mbappe was hurt during France’s opening match of the international break but remained in France rather than returning to Real Madrid to continue his treatment.

Cadena SER reported that his decision suggested the striker lacked confidence in Real Madrid’s medical staff.

Mbappe was also seen celebrating at a venue in France, further increasing the controversy when he returned to Madrid after Jose Mourinho’s players had resumed training.

The forward was substituted in the 59th minute of France’s Nations League group match against Turkey after scoring the only goal of the game. Real Madrid subsequently announced that he would be out for two weeks after suffering a muscle strain.

During the team’s break, Mbappe appeared at Real Madrid’s training ground and completed an individual session. The club’s players had not yet returned to collective training at that stage.

Real Madrid taking cautious approach

Real Madrid are unwilling to take risks with Mbappe following his knee injury and want to give him sufficient time to recover before he returns to competitive action.

Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo reported that the club does not want to rush the France captain back into the team.

The report said Real Madrid intend to rest Mbappe for their La Liga meeting with Villarreal in matchweek eight and their Champions League match against Roma in matchweek two. The planned schedule would see him return against Sevilla in La Liga matchweek nine, before the meeting with Barcelona in matchweek 10.

Mbappe has played eight matches for Real Madrid this season, scoring eight goals and providing two assists.

Real Madrid are fourth in the La Liga table with 15 points and are preparing to face Villarreal on Saturday in the eighth round of the competition.