Mbappé injury alarm: 'It does not look good'

Kylian Mbappé has set alarm bells ringing in France, with the concern spreading directly to Real Madrid. Following Konaté's withdrawal from the French camp on Thursday, the Madrid striker felt discomfort in his left knee immediately after scoring the first goal of the Zinedine Zidane era against Turkey. Despite returning to the pitch after receiving medical attention, he went down onto the turf moments later and immediately signalled to be taken off.

The France international limped off the pitch, visibly shaken by the injury sustained just before the hour mark. The issue arose as he struck the ball to break the deadlock: having received possession on the left corner of the penalty area, he realised something was wrong as he began to celebrate.

The French national team's medical staff rushed onto the pitch to carry out an initial assessment. Although Mbappé attempted to continue, he was soon forced to ask for a substitution amidst clear signs of pain, even covering his face. It was Mbappé's 67th goal for Les Bleus to put France ahead in Turkey, in an encounter that was proving increasingly difficult for the visitors after the break.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Zidane gave a worrying initial update: "Unfortunately, it does not look good. I think he will have to return. We are not going to take any risks. There was hyperextension in the knee. It is not very encouraging that he can continue," he stated. The French Football Federation subsequently confirmed that he "will leave the national team camp ahead of the final three matches".

There is grave concern at Real Madrid over the incident, particularly given that it involves the same knee that caused Mbappé problems last season. For now, the Spanish club have no direct information and are awaiting further updates from France, pending direct communication with both the player and the national side's medical staff.

Mbappé was previously sidelined last season due to issues with this same left knee. He was forced to halt his campaign on two separate occasions after it emerged that the medical department had mistakenly performed the initial examination on the unaffected knee.