Paris (AFP)

Little used at Chelsea, Olivier Giroud risks watching the final of the Champions League from the substitutes' bench, Saturday in Porto (9:00 p.m.), before returning to the Blues where his starting status also pitched with the return of Karim Benzema for the 'Euro.

One hundred and forty minutes is the time spent on the field by the striker of the "Blues" club since the end of February, less than two full matches.

His team has yet played on all fronts between the Championship, the FA Cup and the European Cup.

At 34, Giroud hardly takes advantage of the rotation set up by his coach Thomas Tuchel since his superb goal in the round of 16 first leg of C1 against Atlético Madrid on February 23.

And Chelsea's qualification for the European final, against Manchester City, owes more to its competitor Timo Werner.

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The giant of the France team (1.93 m) is not in his first slack period in club.

But if, for a long time, each international gathering came to brighten up the daily life of the former center-forward of Montpellier and Arsenal, this has not been obvious for a few months.

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Will his place be kept warm for the Euro (June 11-July 11)?

The surprise return of Benzema, whom he rubbed shoulders with in the selection before the latter's long sidelining, further scrambles the hierarchy, especially as Giroud will not join the selection until Monday, five days after the essential of the workforce.

- "Not magicians" -

"Olivier will arrive in the condition he is in, we will make sure to get him to compensate with work, but we are not magicians," said coach Didier Deschamps on Wednesday.

"There is only the repetition of matches (which can work), but matches we do not have a lot".

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This time there will only be two preparatory matches, against three usually, against Wales in Nice on June 2, two days after Giroud's arrival, then against Bulgaria on June 8 at the Stade de France.

In March, the second highest scorer in the history of the Blues (44 goals) did not seem at best, without a goal or an assist on the clock and with two consecutive matches started on the bench ... A first for five years concerning him, except injury.

"Obviously, saying that Olivier is in a difficult situation is reality. But a player in difficulty, I have had others," Deschamps dodged in recent days.

In fact, if the Basque technician has always put forward the "experience" and the statistics to defend his center forward, he has regularly opted, in recent months, for game systems without him, for example by refocusing Kylian Mbappé In tip.

In November, he also warned that Giroud "had every interest in having playing time, for the France team and for him, psychologically and physically", inviting him, in hollow, to study the hypothesis of a departure.

- Traffic jam in attack -

Despite everything, Giroud has very often responded to the field.

After a 2018 World Cup without a goal, but an essential role for the team, he delivered three good years: four goals in six qualifying matches for the Euro in the fall of 2019, three new achievements a year later in the League nations and a double for his 100th selection last October against Ukraine in a friendly (7-1).

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The Benzema data nevertheless reshuffles the cards and adds additional competition for the native of Chambéry, already seen in 2015 and before.

"I am not blind and deaf and I am aware that it was too much for Olivier because he is held responsible (for the sidelining of Benzema) when he was not . Admittedly, they are both axial attackers, but one did not prevent the other, "played down Deschamps when announcing his list for the Euro.

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With his extremely rich line of attack, the coach faces a real traffic jam: Giroud, Benzema, Mbappé, Griezmann, Coman, Dembélé, Ben Yedder and Thuram all apply for a place in the sun.

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