PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL — Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe, who was hospitalized for a stomach flu during the FIFA Club World Cup this week, has yet to return to practice with his team.
Mbappe did not participate with his Real Madrid teammates during a training session Saturday, a day before the club’s second-group stage match.
Real Madrid will face Mexican club Pachuca on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET inside Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C.
Mbappe will not travel with Real Madrid from South Florida for the match, a team spokesman told USA TODAY Sports. The club will return to its training site at The Gardens North County District Park after the Pachuca match.
New Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso will likely address Mbappe’s condition during a news conference in Charlotte on Saturday night.
Mbappe trained at Real Madrid’s hotel Friday, the team announced.
Mbappe was released from the hospital Thursday afternoon, and expected to ‘continue with specific medical treatment and will gradually return to team activity,’ Real Madrid said in a statement.
Mbappe was hospitalized for testing ‘to treat an acute case of gastroenteritis,’ the club announced in an earlier statement.
Mbappe – who led France to the World Cup title in 2018 and scored a hat trick in their World Cup loss to Lionel Messi and Argentina in 2022 – is the biggest star in the Club World Cup field aside from Messi.
He did not play last Wednesday in Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw against Al-Hilal in the tournament opener for both clubs.
‘I don’t know if he will be back for the next game. We’ll see. He wasn’t doing well in the last two days. He’s sick,’ Alonso said after the draw Wednesday, before Mbappé was hospitalized.
Alonso said Mbappé was ‘feeling a bit better, but not fully fit,’ during a news conference Tuesday, adding Real Madrid would wait until the last minute to decide if he would play against Al-Hilal.
Real Madrid’s final group-stage match at the Club World Cup is against FC Salzburg (Austria) on Thursday, June 26 at 9 p.m. ET inside Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
FC Salzburg sits atop the Club World Cup Group H standings with three points after beating Pachuca 2-1 last Wednesday. Real Madrid and Al-Hilal each have a point after their draw, while Pachuca has zero points.
Mbappe’s return could come in the Club World Cup knockout stage, if Real Madrid advances.
