Another injury shocker! Benzema suffers an injury setback in Qatar

France won the World Cup in 2018 despite playing without their best striker. And if they want to win it again - they will once again have to do it without any help from Karim Benzema.

Real Madrid's star was reported to have trained separately from the rest of the squad on Friday, and it got even worse on Saturday. The 34-year-old striker felt a sharp pain in his left quadriceps and had to redraw from training and go to an emergency MRI scan.

As things stand, there is no chance at all to see Benzema take the pitch on Tuesday against Australia - and is in real danger of missing the tournament in Qatar altogether.

Ballon d'Or 2022 winner Benzema has been struggling with injury all season, making just 12 out of a possible 21 appearances for Champions League winners Real.

Karim has only played 26 minutes of football in the past month - but the French believe in him regardless

The ailment has been a slight mystery, though with it originally declared as 'muscle fatigue', but there was a conflicting view on the player's fitness from club boss Carlo Ancelotti who said the medical team had given him the all-clear.

The chances are slim at this point, but the former Olympique Lyonnais starlet now seems likely to join the list of high-profile star who will be forced to miss the tournament, along with Sadio Mane, Paul Pogba, Reece James, Jose Gaya, N'Golo Kante and many more...

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