The Club World Cup has not been easy for Kylian Mbappé, who since his arrival in the United States has been through a real ordeal, but is now beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The player suffered acute gastroenteritis that sent him to the hospital and left him physically drained, so his return to the pitch is happening gradually. He found the net against Borussia and everything points to him starting against his former team, PSG, in the semi-final. In the last few hours, the reasons why the player has been out of action for much of the tournament have been revealed.
A bacterium in chicken is to blame for everything
According to L’Équipe, what triggered the Real Madrid striker’s health problems was food poisoning from a bacterium in chicken. Specifically, this media outlet claims that Mbappé already felt ill before taking off on June 14 for Miami, where the Real Madrid team was based in the United States. That initial slight discomfort worsened and the Frenchman developed a fever and acute gastroenteritis that did not subside, so he was hospitalized on the night of Wednesday, June 18, for tests. There, he underwent tests to rule out appendicitis, was treated, and returned to the hotel to continue his recovery.
It was a slow recovery, as, according to the aforementioned source, the player lost six kilos due to the poisoning. In fact, his physical change on his return to training was striking. He has been training hard to get back into shape and catch up with coach Xabi Alonso’s systems. It has not been an easy task, as he looked a little lost on his return to the pitch, especially against Juventus, although he improved in the minutes he played against Borussia, where he even scored a goal.
The question now is whether Xabi Alonso thinks he is ready to start against PSG in the semi-finals or whether he will continue to rely on Gonzalo. The young academy player has been the coach’s choice to replace Mbappé and has risen to the challenge with flying colors, playing a starring role throughout the World Cup with four goals and one assist in the five games played so far.
Mbappé continues to make history
As we said, Mbappé has been gradually returning to the pitch, playing in the round of 16 against Juventus and last Saturday in the quarterfinals against Borussia Dortmund, where the Frenchman came off the bench again and found the back of the net. The striker reached 44 goals in the Club World Cup, scoring in every official tournament of the season.
Kylian Mbappé has played 58 games for Real Madrid and scored 44 goals, spread across each of the seven official competitions played by the club: La Liga (31), Champions League (7), Copa del Rey (2), Spanish Super Cup (1), European Super Cup (1), Intercontinental Cup (1), and Club World Cup (1). A great debut season that he wants to cap off with the World Cup title, which would add to his La Liga top scorer award and his Golden Boot as the top scorer in Europe’s top leagues.