Karim Benzema will not be able to play the World Cup in Qatar. The French Federation announced this Saturday evening the striker’s withdrawal after various French media had anticipated him after the tests he underwent at the Aspetar clinic in Doha. He suffers from a torn left thigh muscle which allegedly occurred in training this Saturday for the French squad, which has left him seemingly with a limp.
It was the first time the current Ballon d’Or winner had trained with the squad after weeks of inactivity since Real Madrid released a medical statement on Oct. 22, specifying that the footballer was suffering from “muscle fatigue in the quadriceps of the lower leg left”. The striker missed three games. Later he wanted to reappear against Celtic in the Champions League (last 27 minutes) but was ruled out again against Rayo and Cadiz.
The Real Madrid player was one of the main novelties for France to try to defend and repeat the success of 2018 in Russia. However, it was no secret that he hadn’t arrived fully recovered.
Benzema, who will turn 35 in December, has been away from the national team for almost six years and has only played in the 2014 World Cup. Deschamps has until today, one day before his team’s debut, to make any changes to the list. France has already had to do without Kimpembe and Nkunku, who have been replaced.
