Kylian Mbappe exited Real Madrid’s UEFA Champions League game at Atalanta in the first half with an unspecified injury on Tuesday, adding to the team’s injury crisis this season. The France international went down around the halfway line in the 35th minute of the game, though it is unclear what the issue was. He briefly received medical attention before he was quickly substituted off for Rodrygo, who himself only returned to play last week after dealing with a muscle injury.
It marked a poor turn of events for Mbappe, who started the game brightly. He already had three shots in 36 minutes and scored the game’s opening goal in the 10th minute, which was his second Champions League goal of the season. Brahim Diaz passed the ball into the penalty area and Mbappe moved towards it, waiting for the pass while on the edge of the box. Mbappe caught up with the ball quickly and wasted little time taking a shot, with his clinical strike landing in the bottom left corner of the goal.
Real Madrid fizzled as the half went on, though, eventually being outshot by Atalanta and conceding a penalty shortly before halftime. Charles De Ketelaere converted the spot kick in the second minute of first-half stoppage time to level the score before the break.
This would not be the first injury Mbappe suffered since joining Real Madrid over the summer — he had a short-term muscle injury that kept him out the team’s 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid in September.
