Benzema leaves France training early with injury: report

Karim Benzema, who has been struggling with a muscle problem, and defender Raphael Varane, who is recovering from a knee issue, trained with the France squad on Saturday for the first time since they arrived in Qatar

November 20, 2022 01:46 am | Updated 01:46 am IST - DOHA

France’s Karim Benzema takes part in a training session in Doha, Qatar on November 19, 2022. The striker is reportedly battling an injury

France’s Karim Benzema takes part in a training session in Doha, Qatar on November 19, 2022. The striker is reportedly battling an injury | Photo Credit: AP

Striker Karim Benzema was forced to leave France's training session because of an injury on Saturday in what is potentially a major blow for the defending champions three days before their World Cup opener, L'Equipe reported.

The Ballon d'Or winner, who has been struggling with a muscle problem, and central defender Raphael Varane, who is recovering from a knee issue, trained with the squad on Saturday for the first time since they arrived in Qatar.

L'Equipe said that Benzema did not last the full session after sustaining an injury, the nature and severity of which is not yet known.

France, already without influential midfielders Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante for the tournament because of injury, open their campaign against Australia in a Group D match on Tuesday.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.