- Benzema ruled out one day before World Cup
- Striker suffered thigh injury in training
- FFF confirm he will miss whole tournament
WHAT HAPPENED? Benzema left training early because of an injury to the "quadriceps of his left thigh", the French Football Federation confirmed. A subsequent scan at a hospital in Doha ruled that he will not be able to feature at the World Cup.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The injury to the Ballon d'Or winner occurred just a day before the opening of the tournament in Qatar, dealing a huge blow to the reigning world champions. Benzema has scored 37 goals all in for the national team across 97 appearances.
WHAT THEY SAID: “I am extremely sad for Karim who made this World Cup a major goal," Deschamps said. "Despite this new blow for the French team, I have full confidence in my group. We will do everything to meet the huge challenge that awaits us."
AND WHAT'S MORE: France are already missing the services of Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kante and Christopher Nkunku through injury, and this will only weaken their squad further.
IN TWO PHOTOS:
Next Match
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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR FRANCE? Les Bleus will likely bring in another player to bolster their attack after the loss of the star striker, with Deschamps' men facing Australia on Tuesday.