Real Madrid beat Villarreal handily, 3-1 yesterday, but the victory also brough a couple of injury concerns. Franco Mastantuono and Kylian Mbappe both suffered minor injuries, with the former suffering some discomfort in his hamstring while the latter picked up an ankle sprain. With Mbappe, the sprain is reportedly only a mild one, as he supposedly suffered it while scoring the team’s third goal. He was initially selected for the France national team this FIFA window, but now it looks like he’ll likely miss out on Les Bleus World Cup Qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Iceland coming up.
As for Mastantuono, he was expected to feature for Argentina this week, but now it seems like he could most likely remain with Real Madrid this international break. Mbappe and Mastantuono join Dani Carvajal and Trent Alexander-Arnold on Xabi Alonso’s list of injury concerns.
Real Madrid visit Getafe two weeks from today, but the bigger concern is El Clásico one week later (there is also a big Champions League clash with Juventus sandwiched in between these two La Liga fixtures. Carvajal an TAA face a race against the clock to try and be ready for the next rivalry showdown with FC Barcelona on October 26.
Also, in case you missed it, the Queen of Pop Taylor Swift dropped a new album this week, and one of the songs features a Real Madrid reference in its lyrics.
On the track “Wi$h Li$t, Swift, who is deeply intertwined with the world of sports, on multiple levels, sings: “They want that freedom, living off the grid. They want those three dogs that they call their kids. And that good surf, no hypocrites. They want it all. They want a contract with Real Madrid.”
Some have perceived that line to be a shot at Alexander-Arnold, due to his shockingly and abruptly leaving Liverpool, in order to join Los Blancos.
We think that might be reading a bit too much into it though.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter