Kylian Mbappe has made a stunning recovery from his left knee sprain and is set to be available for Real Madrid's Supercopa de Espana final against Barcelona. Xabi Alonso's men sealed their place in Sunday's final with a 2-1 win against Atletico Madrid tonight in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The French forward was left at home for the Madrid derby and also missed the 5-1 win against Real Betis last weekend. Gonzalo Garcia was the hat-trick hero in that game but failed to replicate such a display in the Supercopa tonight.
Mbappe is now flying over to Saudi Arabia to join his teammates and prepare for El Clasico. It's the best news possible for Alonso whose job was said to have been on the line if Los Blancos failed to win or impress against Atleti.
Kylian Mbappe returns for Supercopa final
Alonso himself confirmed the news in his post-match press conference after the victory over Diego Simeone's Atleti. He said (via Fabrizio Romano):
“He will come to Saudi in the next 24h, he feels much better. He has chances to play."
It's a massive boost for Alonso given Mbappe has been in red-hot form this season. He's bagged 18 goals in as many La Liga games, part of an overall haul of 29 goals in 24 matches across competitions.
Mbappe can be expected to lead the line if he's fit to start on Sunday and join Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo in attack. There were initially concerns he'd miss three weeks of action but that is not the case.
Kylian Mbappe return can win Madrid the Supercopa
There's no doubt Mbappe is Alonso's talisman given his goalscoring exploits but his return will only improve an already positive envirornment in the dressing room. This was alluded to by Vinicius and Jude Bellingham ahead of the Atleti game.
Mbappe netted the opener in a 2-1 win over Barca earlier this season which was Alonso's biggest win as manager. He will be chomping at the bit to keep up his form that has seen him break records.
But there's no guarantee he will start El Clasico given he's only just recovered from his knee injury. But his return could be the difference between the two rivals and help Alonso claim his first major trophy.