Karim Benzema Suffering From Hamstring Injury, May Miss France World Cup Opener

The reigning world champions, France are reportedly sweating over the availability of Karim Benzema for their World Cup opener against Australia on Tuesday.

Benzema has endured something of a disrupted season, already having been forced to miss 11 matches for club and country after enjoying the best season of his career in 2021-22.

Benzema is said to be battling two injuries concurrently – a hamstring problem and knee strains, and the France medical staff is unsure over what is causing the issues.

The report claims that no medical examination has been able to diagnose the exact issue, but he has been put on a tailor-made training program in a bid to cure the problems.

The 2022 Ballon d’Or winner has found it difficult to show his best form for Real Madrid during the 2022-23 campaign, only managing six goals and one assist in 12 appearances in all competitions.

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The striker failed to score in the group stage of the Champions League, while he missed Real Madrid’s last four league matches before the break due to his muscular problems.

Benzema has scored 37 goals in 97 appearances for France, and he will be hoping to pass a century in terms of outings for the national team during the competition in Qatar.

“He knows that the World Cup is a very important moment for him. He will do everything, like the whole group, to be ready on November 22,” Deschamps told TF1 earlier this month.

“There was a period where Benzema played too much and is now paying the price with small injuries. But he knows the World Cup is important.

“It’s not that Benzema did not want to play for Real Madrid, he was just not ready. But I’m sure he will be ready for the World Cup.”

Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Kingsley Coman, Marcus Thuram, and Randal Kolo Muani are also attacking options for France at the upcoming World Cup.

Should Benzema not be fit, it opens the door to Olivier Giroud. The AC Milan forward, despite not scoring, was key to their victory four years ago.

Giroud is two goals off equalling the all-time leading goalscorer charts for the France national side, with Thierry Henry out on his own presently with 51 goals.