Rabat – Real Betis head coach Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed that Moroccan international Abde Ezzalzouli is still not fully recovered from the knee injury that has disrupted his season and ruled him out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Speaking ahead of Betis’ UEFA Champions League league-phase opener against Lille on Tuesday, Pellegrini said the 24-year-old continues to experience problems with his knee and is not yet ready to return at full fitness.
“Abde is not yet 100% recovered,” Pellegrini said. “He still has a knee injury, and it is a complicated injury because it causes a lot of discomfort.”
The Chilean coach nevertheless expressed hope that the Atlas Lion could make further progress in the coming days.
“We hope that over the next few days he can recover to 100%,” Pellegrini added.
Abde has consequently been left out of Betis’ squad for the trip to France, preventing him from taking part in the Andalusian club’s opening Champions League fixture of the 2026-27 campaign.
UEFA has confirmed that Lille will host Real Betis on Tuesday at 8 p.m. Moroccan time.
Injury has disrupted Abde’s season
Abde originally suffered the knee problem while representing Morocco in a pre-World Cup friendly against Norway in June.
Medical examinations diagnosed a moderate sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee. The injury ultimately prevented the winger from representing the Atlas Lions at the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
The Betis player subsequently traveled to France to begin a specialized rehabilitation program before gradually returning to training with his club during the summer. He first resumed partial group training in August after spending much of his recovery working individually.
Pellegrini had already exercised caution over Abde’s return earlier in the season, leaving him out against Real Sociedad in August because he still needed more time to recover from the knee problem. He later returned to the Betis squad for the La Liga meeting with Levante.
His latest absence comes at an important stage for Betis, who are beginning their Champions League campaign after securing a place among the competition’s 36 league-phase teams.
For Abde, the immediate priority will be completing his recovery without another setback, with Pellegrini offering no exact date for his return to competitive action.
