India, March 25 -- Kylian Mbappe's December knee injury is back in focus after The Athletic reported that Real Madrid's medical staff initially performed an MRI on the wrong leg, delaying the correct diagnosis and allowing the France captain to keep playing through the problem.

The report said Mbappe's injured left knee was not properly assessed at first because the scan was carried out on his uninjured right knee. With no issue detected in that initial test, the 27-year-old featured in three more matches before the mistake was realised. A later scan on the left knee revealed a partial posterior knee ligament tear, although Madrid's medical update on December 31 described the problem in broader terms as a knee sprain.

The issue first em...