French striker, Karim Benzema, will miss the FIFA Qatar World Cup due to injury, the French Football Federation said in communique earlier this evening.
“Karim Benzema was forced to cut short the collective training session after feeling pain in the quadriceps of his left thigh,” reads the statement.
The 34-year-old’s return to full training this Saturday was curtailed by the injury which forced to undergo an MRI test to determine the seriousness of the injury.
The test revealed that the ballon d’or winner suffers from a femoral rectus injury, which will require a three-week recovery period.
This was the first time Benzema had taken part in full training since Didier Deschamps’s squad met up at their French headquarters of Clairefontaine last Monday.
The Real Madrid striker has been struggling with a thigh problem since October and has played less than half an hour of football in his club’s last six games.
“I am extremely sad for Karim who made this World Cup a major goal. Despite this new blow for the French team, I have full confidence in my group. We will do everything to meet the immense challenge that awaits us, ”said the national coach.
Under FIFA rules Deschamps can call up a replacement for an injured player until Monday, on the eve of their first game against Australia.
Benzema, who last month won the Ballon d’Or, has not played an entire match since October 19.
He and Raphael Varane trained apart from the rest of the squad on Thursday during a session open to the media at the home stadium of Qatari champions Al Sadd.
With agencies
