Karim Benzema will not be able to play the World Cup in Qatar. The French Federation announced this Saturday night the striker's withdrawal after various French media overtook him after the tests he underwent at the Aspetar clinic in Doha. He suffers a muscle tear in his left thigh that would have occurred in training this Saturday for the French team, which he left limping visibly.
It was the first time that the current Ballon d'Or player had exercised with the team after weeks of inactivity since Real Madrid released a medical statement on October 22 detailing that the footballer suffered "muscular fatigue in the quadriceps of his left leg." The striker missed three games. Later he wanted to reappear against Celtic in the Champions League (the last 27 minutes) but he was left out again against Rayo and Cádiz.
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 did not arrive fully recovered.
Benzema, who will turn 35 in December, was 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 the debut of his team, to make any changes to the list. France have already had to do without Kimpembe and Nkunku, who were replaced.
