Arbeloa Refutes Mbappe Injury Misdiagnosis Claims

Real Madrid's interim coach Alvaro Arbeloa has strongly denied reports suggesting that the club's medical staff misdiagnosed Kylian Mbappe's knee injury by scanning the wrong knee, labeling the information as "completely false." Mbappe, who has been sidelined for four months due to the knee issue, previously denied the reports while on international duty with France.

Speaking ahead of Real Madrid's LaLiga encounter with Mallorca, Arbeloa emphasized the need to move past the speculation. "Mbappe has clearly said that this information is absolutely false," he told reporters. "I think it's time to leave Mbappe's knee behind and focus on his goals, on the goal he scored with his national team, and hopefully the goals he will score with us too."

Arbeloa praised Mbappe's recent performance for France and expressed optimism about his return to top form. "Like the goal he scored for his national team, and hopefully he can score them for us too. And get back to the level he's shown and is capable of. Which is the level we want. And be able to enjoy and talk about his goals, the quality he has, and how much he can help us."

Team News: Militao Returns, Bellingham Fit

In other injury updates, defender Eder Militao, who has missed much of the season, is back in contention for selection. Arbeloa confirmed his availability, providing a boost to the squad.

Regarding Jude Bellingham, who recently returned from his own injury lay-off, Arbeloa was supportive of his decision to join England's national team camp. Despite not featuring in either of England's friendlies, the coach understands the caution taken by the England manager. "His case was a bit unusual, because he did play a few minutes against Atletico Madrid and now the England manager has decided he won't play," Arbeloa said. "I also understand that they didn't want to take any risks. I think Jude is smart enough to have had some good training sessions. To keep getting himself fit. And he's ready to play. To help the team, which is what we need."

Players to Watch

For Mallorca, forward Vedat Muriqi stands out, having scored all three of his LaLiga goals against Real Madrid with headers in seven appearances. Since the 2003-04 season, only Fernando Llorente has netted more headed goals against Madrid in the competition, with four.

On the Real Madrid side, Vinicius Junior continues to shine, having scored 72 goals in 234 LaLiga games. He has now equaled Luis Fabiano as the third-highest Brazilian goalscorer in the competition in the 21st century, trailing only Ronaldo Nazario (83) and Willian Jose (81).

Match Preview and Prediction

Real Madrid head into the match on a strong run, having won 11 of their last 13 LaLiga games (with two losses), though they have conceded in their last six league outings. Mallorca, meanwhile, have struggled, losing five of their last seven matches (one win, one draw).

Historically, Los Blancos dominate this fixture, winning 13 of the last 16 LaLiga games against Mallorca (one draw, two losses), including scoring in the last five (seven goals). Mallorca have won two of their last five home games against Madrid (one draw, two losses), a better record than their previous 12 home encounters (one win, three draws, eight losses).

Under coach Martin Demichelis, Mallorca could make history with a win, as he would become the third Mallorca coach in the 21st century to win his first two home games, following Sergio Kresic in 2001 and Javier Aguirre in 2022.

Opta predicts a Real Madrid victory with 57.3% probability, compared to 20.1% for Mallorca and 22.6% for a draw. The prediction: Real Madrid win.