The scorer left prematurely the training of the French team on Saturday, November 19 in the evening, in Doha. It could be forfeited against Australia on Tuesday, and even its presence for the rest of the tournament is uncertain.
by Anthony Hernandez (Special Envoy to Doha)
If the French team manages to retain its world title, on December 18, it will not have deserved. For several weeks, the Blues have been following the pitfalls. It is to wonder if the curse of the defending world champions – the last three have been eliminated in the first round – did not take ahead this year. Saturday, November 19, when he participated in his first collective session since the start of the Blues Rally, Karim Benzema was forced to leave training prematurely.
The Real Madrid striker was playing an opposition in the holder team. According to L’Equipe, the Ballon d’Or 2022 could already be forfeited for the first French match, scheduled for Tuesday, November 22, at the Al-Janoub stadium, against Australia. A priori, this alert would not be a relapse but would concern another muscular discomfort.
For a month, Lyonnais has been struggling with pain in the hamstrings. Approaching a crucial World Cup for him – he was sidelined in the last edition, in 2018 – he had tried to spare himself, alternating some game ends and rest periods. His last meeting disputed in full date already of October 19. 2>
Crucial medical examinations
The next hours will be decisive. The 34 -year -old star, who is known for the care he brings to his body and his physical condition, must take medical examinations that will be crucial. They will determine if he has a chance to be able to play this World Cup or not.
The coach Didier Deschamps will have a crucial choice to make: wait hoping that Benzema is later on the tournament or turn the page, activate this umpteenth package and replace him in the list of 26 selected players. He has until Monday evening, on the eve of the entrance to the Blues, to decide.
If he was a young retiree at the time, Deschamps certainly in mind the misadventure of the 2002 World Cup. That year, Zinedine Zidane, the iconic figure of French football, had injured himself in the last preparation match on South Korean soil. He had been kept in the group, left at rest for the first two games and his rushed return during the third, against Denmark, had not changed anything in the tricolor fiasco. This refusal of reality had certainly been able to disrupt the collective.
The Package of Karim Benzema, if it is confirmed, would remove another experienced and leading player from the French team. Before the World Cup, Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kanté, two figures of the 2018 world champions, threw in the towel because of injuries. Printenel defender Kimpembe gave up a few days from departure in the Middle East, like the second goalkeeper, Mike Maignan. Stronger Christopher Nkunku waited for the last training in Clairefontaine (Yvelines) to twist his knee.
Thursday is another announced star of this World Cup who had formalized his absence. The Senegalese Sadio Mané was injured in extremis with his club in Bayern Münich. Operated a few days before the competition, he did not make the trip to Qatar. This avalanche of injuries raises the question of the intensification of the international football calendar, which submits the players and their bodies at an ever more infernal pace. Unfortunately, the Blues are well placed to find out.