SOCCER: France striker Mbappe suffers hamstring injury ahead of World Cup

Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe has suffered a hamstring injury, the LaLiga club said on Monday, weeks before the start of the World Cup.

Spanish media reported that the 27-year-old France captain could miss the rest of Real's season after picking up the injury during the 1-1 draw at Real Betis on Friday.

"Following the tests carried out today on our player Kylian Mbappe by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with an injury to the semitendinosus muscle in his left leg. Awaiting progress," the club said in a statement.

Real visit Espanyol on Sunday before travelling to Barcelona on May 10.

The record 15-times European champions are enduring a disappointing season, trailing Barcelona by 11 points after 33 LaLiga matches and eliminated from the Champions League at the quarter-final stage by Bayern Munich.

The World Cup, co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, starts on June 11.

-Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond/Reuters