On Tuesday, Carlo Ancelotti supported Real Madrid’s grievances regarding Spanish refereeing and announced that Kylian Mbappe will miss the team’s Copa del Rey quarterfinal matchup against Leganes due to a bruised calf.
During their 1-0 La Liga loss on Saturday, Espanyol’s Carlos Romero hacked down French striker Mbappe. The defender managed to score the game-winning goal against the league leaders without being sent off.
Madrid blasted Spanish referees as “rigged” and “completely discredited” in a letter to the Spanish football organization on Monday.
“We gave Mbappe an extra day of recovery yesterday, and he started training today,” Ancelotti informed reporters.
“He trained normally, but he will not be able to play in the game tomorrow due to a bruised calf.”
Before the match against Leganes, Ancelotti reaffirmed his claim that the decision to not send Romero off was “inexplicable” following the game.
“What Madrid’s message asks for is an explanation, and that seems right to me,” Ancelotti said, adding that “we’re talking about something inexplicable, and above all, the welfare of the players.”
“We want an explanation for what transpired and why the player’s welfare was not taken into consideration.”
Jude Bellingham and David Alaba, who was sidelined earlier Tuesday due to a thigh ailment, were also expected to miss the Leganes match due to knocks, according to Ancelotti.
According to Ancelotti, the Austrian defender will be out for two to three weeks.
Alaba, who just returned after a year-long absence due to a knee injury, is not expected to play in Saturday’s La Liga derby matchup against Atletico Madrid and is not expected to play in the Champions League play-off matchup against Manchester City.
On February 11, Los Blancos travel to Manchester to play the Premier League team, and on February 19, they host the second leg.
Madrid’s probable center-back duo is midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni and young player Raul Asencio, while Antonio Rudiger is a serious doubt for the match due to another thigh injury.
In defense, Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal have been sidelined for a lengthy time due to injuries.
Unfortunately, we lost two key players in the previous two days; we could not account for it. Alaba felt good and was prepared to play tomorrow, according to Ancelotti.
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