Benzema’s World Cup hopes in danger as France hero leaves training with injury

Benzema major injury doubtReportedly left training earlyFears he could miss whole World Cup

WHAT HAPPENED? Benzema reportedly finished training early on Friday, throwing his World Cup participation into uncertainty. The session was his first with the team since arriving in Qatar, and his hopes of playing at the tournament have been dealt a blow as RMC Sport and L’Equipe suggest his session was majorly reduced.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: The seriousness of the injury is currently unknown, but L’Equipe suggest that the forward will definitely miss his nation’s opener against Australia on November 22. Didier Deschamps has the right to call up a replacement for Benzema until their first game on Tuesday, but it is expected this will only be a last resort.

AND WHAT’S MORE: France are already missing the services of Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante and Christopher Nkunku through injury, and this would only weaken their squad further. There are fears he could miss the whole tournament, a big disappointment for him, his nation and all football fans.

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WHAT NEXT FOR BENZEMA? The striker will undergo tests in the coming hours to determine the extent of the injury. It is expected he will be given every chance to prove his fitness, as would be expected if you were recently crowned the best player in the world.