Will Kylian Mbappé play for Real Madrid against Atlético Madrid in LaLiga?

Kylian Mbappé’s fitness is the main question for Real Madrid ahead of their derby against city rivals Atlético Madrid in LaLiga this Sunday.

Los Blancos come into the game riding a wave of confidence after beating Manchester City over two legs in the Champions League to make the quarter-final stage.

However, their injury list is still as long as a Prison Break’s episode list and manager Álvaro Arbeloa still has a gargantuan task on his hands guiding the squad past Simeone’s side, who also made it into the last eight of Europe’s elite in midweek.

The noise surrounding Kylian Mbappé’s fitness is the loudest coming into the derbi, with the French forward finally into the latter stages of a knee recovery process that has kept him out for a now significant chunk of the campaign. Madrid welcomed him back late on against Manchester City where his impact on the game was limited; nevertheless it provided the player with much needed minutes after first feeling pain all the way back in December. He will be in the squad for the game and may even start the match.

But his potential loss would only be at best tied for first place in the list of Madridista worries this week, as first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is set to miss out for an extended period as he overcomes an injury suffered in the game that saw Mbappé return. Substituted at half-time by Arbeloa in place of Andriy Lunin, the initial noise surrounding his fitness was subdued, until subsequent tests carried out revealed a physical issue that will sideline him from anywhere between 6 to 8 weeks.

Arbeloa confirmed that Jude Bellingham will be part of the squad to face Atlético Madrid after the midfielder finally appears to have overcome a hamstring injury that has kept him out since February.

“He is available now; he’ll be in the squad tomorrow,” Arbeloa said of the England international during Saturday’s press conference ahead of the game. “We’ll see if he plays; I think he will. He’s available, and I’m really looking forward to seeing him on the pitch.”

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