France star, Karim Benzema has been ruled out of the World Cup in Qatar after tearing a muscle in his left thigh during training.
The French team will be missing a host of key players at the tournament such as Paul Pogba, N’golo Kante, and Cristopher Nkunku, the latter pulling out as well due to a knee injury after a challenge by fellow teammate Eduardo Camavinga during a soft warm-up.
“Karim Benzema is out of the World Cup,” the French soccer federation (FFF) said. “After hurting the quadriceps on his left thigh the Real Madrid striker is forced to give up on taking part in the World Cup.”
“Benzema was participating in his first full training session with Les Bleus when he had to come off after feeling some pain in his left thigh, he went for an MRI scan in a hospital (clinic) in Doha, which unfortunately confirmed a tear,” the FFF continued, adding that he will need three weeks to recover.
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“I’m very sad for Karim who had made this World Cup a major objective,” France coach Didier Deschamps said
This is a huge blow for the French national team as they gear up to face Australia on Tuesday in Group D, then Denmark four days later and Tunisia in November.