Karim Benzema is OUT of the World Cup: Holders France are ROCKED on the eve of the World Cup after Ballon d’Or winner picks up injury in training… as Les Bleus lose another star having lost Christopher Nkunku in similar fashion
Benzema suffered a new thigh injury and not a reoccurrence of the knee and hamstring problems that had seen him train away from the squad alongside other injury doubtful Raphael Varane.
The Madrid star was working his way through a personalised training programme developed by French staff that aimed to help him recover quickly from other concerns.
But it appears that the striker has been ruled out of what would likely have been his final World Cup appearance, giving manager Didier Deschamps a decision to make on whether to call up a replacement
Deschamps has already been forced into making attacking alterations after fellow striker Christopher Nkunku saw his World Cup hopes brought to an end after he was injured in a training session before the team departed for Qatar.
National team managers can make last-minute changes up until Monday as players attempt to avoid injuries and nurse themselves closer to kick-off.
Benzema had been expected to play a key role in leading an already injury-stricken French side to a successful World Cup defence alongside fellow attacker Kylian Mbappe..
