Karim Benzema might have been the best player in the world last season, but this time around, the picture has been quite different for the Real Madrid superstar. He has barely featured for Los Blancos in recent weeks, as he has struggled with fitness issues. The Frenchman’s last start came against Elche, which was three weeks back.
Thus, the situation was not ideal for either Benzema or Real Madrid, who saw a downturn in form in the past few weeks, in the absence of their star forward. Rodrygo was deployed in the role but it is pretty clear that the Brazilian does not bring a lot of things to the table that the Frenchman does.
There were some rumours though that the Frenchman was trying to avoid risking any injuries and wanted to reach the World Cup at a hundred per cent. Carlo Ancelotti did not take long to rubbish those suggestions.
Now, Benzema has broken his silence about his injury problems in recent times as well. As reported by AS, the Frenchman told Amazon Prime:
"“I’ve had a few little fitness issues but nothing serious. There’s still plenty of time until the 22nd (when France play their first game against Australia). I’ll be fine, I’ll be physically and mentally ready.”"
Real Madrid superstar has his eyes set on the World Cup trophy
France will be looking to defend their World Cup trophy this time around. They have a few key players missing though, in the form of Paul Pogba an N’Golo Kante, both of whom were vital in their triumph in 2018.
This time around, they do have Benzema in their ranks though, who has missed so much of his international career and must be keen to make up for lost time by helping his nation repeat their success.
France have to be considered one of the favourites for the tournament and have two other Real Madrid players in their squad in the form of Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga, who could partner in the middle of the park in the absence of Pogba and Kante.