Real Madrid has announced that Kylian Mbappe has been hospitalized due to gastroenteritis.

Kylian Mbappe of France has been admitted to hospital with acute gastroenteritis, as confirmed by his club, Real Madrid.

In a statement released on Thursday, Real Madrid announced: “Our player Kylian Mbappe has acute gastroenteritis and has been hospitalised for various tests and treatment.” Gastroenteritis is an infection in the gut that can lead to symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea.

The 26-year-old France captain missed training on Tuesday due to a fever and was absent from Real’s 1-1 draw against Al Hilal on Wednesday. Los Blancos manager Xabi Alonso commented after the match that the forward had been dealing with “significant viral issues” and would be assessed ahead of their next fixture.

Real Madrid are set to face Pachuca on Sunday, followed by a crucial Group H match against RB Salzburg next Friday.

Despite his current health concerns, Mbappe had an impressive debut season with Real, scoring 43 goals in 56 appearances after joining the club on a free transfer from Paris St-Germain last summer.

In his absence, 21-year-old Gonzalo Garcia stepped up to score Real’s goal in the draw against Al Hilal, who are four-time Asian Champions League winners. Ruben Neves equalised for Al Hilal with a penalty, while Madrid’s Federico Valverde saw his own spot-kick saved in added time by Yassine Bounou.

Alonso reflected on the match, stating, “The second half was much better than the first. In the first half, we lacked a lot of things; we didn’t have balance. We’ve talked about that.”

He added, “I liked the reaction. We were able to change our rhythm, have more control, and play more in the opposition half. It’s a process. We have to take the positives and look to improve.”

Having taken over from Carlo Ancelotti after a trophyless season, Alonso acknowledged the challenges ahead: “I knew it would take time. There are things we have to change. We’ll have to correct them, and we’ll keep doing that. Everything takes time; we’ve had nine days, and some players have had just three training sessions.”

“It’s demanding; we’re in a competition, but we want to learn, and what we want to do will take time.”