Real Madrid‘s worst nightmare came to pass as Kylian Mbappe limped off injured while on international duty.
The French forward was forced off in the 59th minute of Les Bleus’ 1-0 win away at Turkey in the Uefa Nations League on Friday, scoring the only goal of the game but injuring his knee in the process. France boss Zinedine Zidane has admitted the injury “does not look good”.
It’s been a slow start to the season for Real Madrid, who already trail La Liga leaders and arch-rivals Barcelona by six points, having lost two of their opening seven games. Atletico Madrid and Real Betis also stand between Los Blancos and the summit.
Operating as their central striker, Mbappe is Real Madrid’s top scorer with seven league goals — only Raphinha has more (12) throughout La Liga — and another in the Champions League. In fact, the 27-year-old is the only Los Blancos player with more than three La Liga goals to his name this season, and just one of three to score more than once.
What will Real Madrid miss after Kylian Mbappe’s injury
Goals are the most obvious thing Madrid will crave without Mbappe, but we all know the Frenchman is much more than just a poacher. He is a player who can make things happen for himself and those around him.
Mbappe has attempted (41) and completed (25) more take-ons than any other Real Madrid player this season, sits fourth among his teammates for chances created (11) and is second only to Vinicius Jr (3) for assists (2).
The former Monaco man boasts a shooting accuracy of 53.66%. That is impressive in isolation, but even more eye-catching given it is the highest of any Real Madrid player with five or more attempts — especially since his sheer shot volume naturally increases the likelihood of dragging that average down.
Mbappe gets far more involved in play than more traditional centre-forwards, touching the ball 394 times in La Liga this season at a rate of 56.29 touches per 90. The former is fourth among Los Blancos players, while the latter is seventh among those with at least 50% of minutes played. For context, Erling Haaland averages 25.8 touches per 90 for Man City, while even Harry Kane only averages 37.4 for Bayern Munich.
How can Jose Mourinho replace this sort of all-action output? Well, he has a few options at his disposal.
Who will replace Kylian Mbappe?
Out-and-out strikers
The obvious choice to slot in for Mbappe is Carlos Espi. The Spanish No.9 arrived from Levante in the summer for £21.5m, following a breakout 2025/26 campaign in which he registered 13 goals in 27 appearances across all competitions for Los Azulgranas — including 11 goals in 25 La Liga outings.
Espi has had to be patient as he waits for chances at the Santiago Bernabeu, playing just 25 minutes across five La Liga appearances. However, the 21-year-old has used those minutes brilliantly, netting vital last-minute winners against Espanyol in Real Madrid’s season opener (2-1) and against Elche in mid-September (3-2).
There would be drawbacks to starting Espi up front in place of Mbappe. For example, he attempted just 1.61 and completed 0.81 take-ons per 90 for Levante in La Liga last season, while averaging just 32.69 touches per 90.
While you have to account for Levante being a far less dominant side than Real Madrid, this steep drop-off highlights that Espi operates primarily as a traditional poacher, rather than the all-rounder Mbappe has become.. That is what has made him such a valuable impact substitute at the start of this season.
Nevertheless, Espi has already proven he can be a reliable goalscorer in La Liga, whether as the protagonist for Levante or the understudy for Madrid. If he is to go for a pure striker, Mourinho is far more likely to field Espi in Mbappe’s absence rather than Endrick, who has clocked just four minutes across all competitions this season due to a muscle injury.
Jude Bellingham to resume false nine role?
Mourinho may be very tempted to field Jude Bellingham as his stand-in striker until Mbappe is back in action. After all, he has a track record in this position.
Bellingham enjoyed great success as a false nine under Carlo Ancelotti in his debut 2023/24 campaign. The England star scored 19 goals in 28 La Liga appearances and another four in 11 Champions League outings, helping Los Blancos win the double.
This season, Bellingham has been nominally fielded as an attacking midfielder, but has primarily operated in the inside-left channel. From there, he’s able to cut onto his right foot to get shots on goal, while having the choice of isolating full-backs, centre-backs or defensive midfielders.
When Bellingham does get opponents one-on-one, he’s a ruthlessly powerful and skilful runner. The former Birmingham City man is third in La Liga behind only Lamine Yamal (30) and Mbappe (25) for successful take-ons (20). The 23-year-old also has a keen eye for a pass, with his 16 chances created second among Real Madrid players and fourth in the whole of La Liga.
All of this has combined to help Bellingham register three goals and two assists in seven La Liga appearances at the start of this season. During his just over three years in Madrid as a whole, he’s hit a handsome 49 goals and 36 assists in 148 appearances across all competitions.
Mourinho has a history of using traditional, physical No.9s, from Didier Drogba and Diego Costa at Chelsea to Diego Milito at Inter. What’s more, moving Bellingham further forward would then create a need to fill his vacant attacking midfield spot.
However, in Bellingham, the Los Blancos boss has a tried-and-tested replacement if he opts for something different. And in reality, whether it’s Bellingham, Espi, or even Vini Jr taking up the striker mantle, Mourinho will need to work out the best way to replace Mbappe’s shot volume and attacking output, and that is going to take a team effort rather than a simple, like-for-like switch.