Officially .. Benzema's position on participating in the "El Clasico" against Barcelona has been resolved
Real Madrid's French striker Karim Benzema will miss the "El Clásico" match against traditional rivals Barcelona, scheduled for Sunday at the "Santiago Bernabeu" in the Spanish capital, because he has not recovered from an injury to his left calf, according to what his Italian coach, Carlo Ancelotti, announced today, Saturday.
Benzema's absence is a strong blow to Real Madrid, because he is remarkably shining this season and scored 22 goals in the local league, leading the scorers' list. 3-1 in the final price leg.
Ancelotti said in a press conference on the eve of the match: "Karim and (French full-back Ferland) Mendy cannot play on Sunday. They will stay here with us next week."
France coach Didier Deschamps had called Benzema to play the two friendlies against Ivory Coast and South Africa on March 25 and 29 in Marseille and Lille, respectively.
Benzema was injured during his team's last match against Mallorca in the local league last Monday, when he scored two goals and made a decisive pass, before leaving the pitch in the 87th minute.
Ancelotti has a fan of wide options to choose a replacement for Benzema, including Mariano Dias of the Dominican Republic or Serbian Luka Jovic, and may even give the opportunity to Belgian Eden Hazard or the forgotten Welshman Gareth Bale on the benches of the reserve players.
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