Absent from the Real Madrid squad for the Clasico against Barça on Sunday evening at the Camp Nou (9pm), French striker Kylian Mbappé hoped to be able to play against the Catalans before feeling discomfort in his hamstrings on Saturday at the end of the last training session.

Kylian Mbappé will not be taking to the pitch at Camp Nou this Sunday evening. The Frenchman is unavailable for El Clásico, which could see FC Barcelona crowned Spanish champions for the 29th time in their history. Absent since being substituted at the end of the La Liga match against Betis (1-1) on April 24, the league's top scorer (24 goals) was a doubt due to a muscle injury. But during a week marked by the altercation between Aurélien Tchouaméni (in the squad) and Federico Valverde (absent), optimism had been the prevailing sentiment in Madrid in recent days. Mbappé had participated fully in training sessions on Thursday and Friday, and the latest medical examinations were reassuring.

Another hamstring strain

But as Marca reports, everything changed on Saturday five minutes before the end of the training session. The French team captain stopped abruptly, feeling discomfort in his hamstrings. He then announced that he could not continue the session before prematurely leaving his teammates, all of whom were surprised, according to the Spanish media outlet.

A major blow for Real Madrid, who were really hoping to have their star striker available against their Catalan rivals on Sunday night. Real Madrid determined that his recovery wasn't yet complete and that he wasn't fit to play. Before turning their attention to the World Cup (Deschamps' squad will be announced on Thursday), Real Madrid still have four La Liga matches to play: against Barça, then Oviedo, Sevilla FC, and Athletic Bilbao. Will Mbappé be available?