France injury woes continue with loss of Karim Benzema

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Ticketing problems cause delays for World Cup fans
Photo: Rhett Lewis - Unsplash/History of Soccer

France will be forced to play the 2022 World Cup without their Ballon D’Or winning striker Karim Benzema, after the player suffered an injury in training just days before their first match in Qatar. 

According to Le Monde, Benzema suffered a muscle tear in the quadriceps of his left thigh whilst taking part in the first national team training session in Doha. 

In a press release published by the French Football Federation (FFF), the team’s manager, Didier Deschamps, said that he was “extremely sad for Karim who had made this World Cup a major objective”. Deschamps added that he retained “full confidence in my group” despite the loss of Benzema. 

It has also been confirmed that France will not take the opportunity to add an extra player to their squad in order to replace Benzema, given the short period of time until the tournament starts. The loss of their star striker is just the latest injury problem for a depleted French side who are already without the midfield duo of Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kanté that helped them win the World Cup in 2018, and have also seen Prensel Kimpembe and Christopher Nkunku drop out due to injury.


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