According to L’Equipe, Karim Benzema has cut off all ties with the France national team staff after leaving the squad before the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to injury.
Benzema suffered an unfortunate injury before the start of the tournament. The 2022 Ballon d’Or winner, however, wanted to stay with the team and see how his recovery progressed.
The team’s doctor, Franck Le Gall, and the management decided against it, as they didn’t see any point. The Real Madrid superstar, however, recovered before the culmination of the group stages of the World Cup. He could have been in contention to start their Round of 16 clash against Poland.
Karim Benzema has rejected an invitation from French president Emmanuel Macron to attend the World Cup final, sources have told ESPN. https://t.co/Eo4VGgV2wj
France have fared well despite Benzema’s absence. They have reached the final, winning five out of the six games played.
However, Karim Benzema might have given the team an extra edge due to his undeniable quality. The superstar forward is understandably not happy with how the situation was handled and has reportedly cut ties with the staff since.
Didier Deschamps, meanwhile, has a major worry to deal with as Olivier Giroud has reportedly suffered a knee knock and is a serious doubt for the clash against Argentina. Benzema could certainly have been a great alternative for the French coach to have at his disposal.
France coach Didier Deschamps spoke about the possibility of calling back Karim Benzema
Didier Deschamps recently said that questions regarding calling Karim Benzema back into the France squad were awkward. Speaking ahead of the FIFA World Cup final, Deschamps said (via Sky Sports):
“I have players who have been injured before. Karim is one of them. The last to be injured is Lucas Hernandez. Since then, I have 24 players to manage. Asking the question vis-à-vis (with regard to) these players, it’s awkward to say the least, if not a little more. The group is there.”
He added:
“I don’t care about invitations from players, former players or injured players. I don’t know who will be there. We had a group at the start and who, from what happened… We lost three, with Nkunku at the beginning. They were part of the beginning of the adventure. They will be 24 important players for France tomorrow.”
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