Revealed: The cause of Kylian Mbappe’s gastroentiritis that saw him lose 6kg | OneFootball

Kylian Mbappe is preparing to face his former club Paris Saint-Germain for the first time this evening, with the 26-year-old not having played against the French giants since he was a teenager for AS Monaco. Few would have predicted that when he did so, there would be doubt over whether he would start for Real Madrid.

That is down to a serious stomach issue that laid Mbappe low for the best part of the week, and causing a fever. On the opening night of the tournament for Real Madrid, Mbappe was in a hospital bed as his teammates drew 1-1 with Al-Hilal. Los Blancos have been taking it slow with Mbappe, who has appeared in the last two games, and scored the winnner against Borussia Dortmund.

Both of those appearances were off the bench though, and with Gonzalo Garcia Torres in fine form, leading the scoring charts, there is some doubt over whether Mbappe will return to the starting XI in his place.

The cause of Mbappe’s stomach problems

The 26-year-old struggled significantly with the stomach problem, and missed all of Los Blancos’ group games in the USA. It was reported that he lost six kilograms in weight during the illness, and a visible difference was evident in his muscle mass.

Image via Diario AS

According to L’Equipe, as quoted by Diario AS, Mbappe was already feeling unwell when he boarded a plane to Miami, and when he arrived, was laid low with a fever. That was on a Monday, but he trained on Tuesday, then after was bed-bound by said fever. The club announced that he had accute gastroentiritis, causing him to spend the night in hospital. The issue was caused by bacteria found in poultry, which was attributed to some chicken that Mbappe had eaten before the USA trip.

Should Mbappe start against PSG?

The big question will be for Xabi Alonso, as he decides whether to start Mbappe against his former side on Wednesday in the Club World Cup semi-final. It has been eight days since he returned to action, and  he would appear to be perfectly fit.

Yet Garcia has earned his shot, and is the leading scorer in the competition. Should Alonso drop Garcia, and things go wrong, he will no doubt be criticised for tinkering with a setup that was working in favour of prestige.