Karim Benzema is officially out of World Cup Qatar 2022 after the striker suffered an injury during a training session on Saturday night (Nov. 19) before the start of the tournament. The team confirmed the news on Twitter.
Benzema’s injury is the latest blow for the Russia 2018 champions. Coach Didier Deschamps also had to deal with the losses of Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kanté, also with injuries, who were key for the triumph four years ago. Mike Maignan, Presnel Kimpembe and Christopher Nkunku will also miss the tournament.
The Real Madrid striker, who recently won the Ballon D’Or, was already dealing with muscular fatigue before coming to Qatar. Here, check out exactlty what happened to Benzema and what the team said.
What happened to Karim Benzema before the start of the World Cup?
“Hit in the quadriceps of the left thigh, Karim @benzema is forced to give up participating in the World Cup.The whole team shares Karim's sadness and wishes him a speedy recovery,” the statement from Les Bleus said on Twitter.
It’s a hard blow for France, especially as Benzema is coming from an incredible season with Real Madrid. However, it’s not totally unexpected as he joined the team after missing the last games with his club due to muscle fatigue.
The injuries have been an issue for all the teams, with many players suffering problems just days before coming to Qatar. Argentina recently also had to made changes to the squad, after Nicolas Gonzalez and Joaquín Correa.
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