Big blow to France as Karim Benzema ruled out of FIFA World Cup due to injury

Defending world champions France suffered a massive blow to their title defence as their star striker Karin Benzema got ruled out of the FIFA World Cup due to an injury.

Benzema got injured during training, per a report by the French Football Federation on Saturday. The recently crowned Ballon d’Or winnerhad been struggling with a muscle problem for some time now. Hewas forced to leave France’s training ground one day before the start of the mega event in Qatar.

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France’s head coach Didier Deschamps in a statement said he obviously feels sad for Benzema and that despite losing him at such a crucial hour, Didier is confident of an exceptional performance from his team in this year's world cup.

"I am extremely sad for Karim who had made this World Cup a major objective. 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," Didier Deschamps said.

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Playing for Real Madrid for over a decade now, Benzema hasearned quite a name for himself. The past season was arguably his best in terms of goals scored as he netted 44 times in 46 games helping his club win the La Liga and Champions League. This feat of his helped won him his first Ballon d’Or as well.

Benzemawas France’s highest goal-scorer during their 2014 campaign. However,he missed the next edition in Russia in 2018 as he was serving a six-year suspension in a blackmailing scandal. But since his return to the international set up last year, the Frenchman has found the back of the net 10 timesin 16 games.

Alongside Benzema, France will also miss the services of Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kante, and Christopher Nkunku all due to injuries.

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The defending champions will open their world cup campaign on Tuesday against Australia in a group D match.

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