Mbappé returns to Valdebebas for a solo training session

Mbappé is back at Valdebebas. After ten days of recovery outside Spain, the forward has resumed training alone, hoping to be available for Saturday’s La Liga match against Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabéu. The eighth-round fixture is scheduled for 9 p.m.

His afternoon session took place both inside the facilities and on the pitch. Mbappé worked with and without the ball, exercises suggesting that his knee is responding to the demands. It was his first time back on the Valdebebas pitch since the break.

The forward landed in Madrid on Monday at 11:16 a.m., nearly an hour after the squad had resumed training under Mourinho. He then trained in the afternoon at the Ciudad Real Madrid, away from the group.

A left-knee injury occurred on September 25 during France’s first match of the break. After a medical examination at Valdebebas on September 26, the player was cleared to continue his recovery away from the Ciudad Deportiva, with the approval of the club and Mourinho. He had also sought a second opinion outside Spain; although the club had approved his time away, the episode prompted some discussion around him. His return to training at Valdebebas marks another step in his preparation for Villarreal.