French star Karim Benzema, Real Madrid's top scorer, will miss his team's match against Girona in the Spanish Premier League on Sunday.
Benzema's absence is due to his continued suffering from a muscle injury in the left leg, his coach Carlo Ancelotti announced today, Saturday.
Ancelotti confirmed - in statements carried by the Spanish newspaper "Marca" - that "Benzema underwent medical tests, and everything went well, but he does not feel comfortable enough to return to the matches, and he will continue to be absent from the Real squad against Girona."
Real Madrid suffered their first defeat this season under the leadership of Ancelotti against Leipzig in the Champions League (Getty)
He added, "We have to bear in mind what the player feels, Benzema has not yet reached his full readiness to participate in the matches."
Since playing the Elche match in the tenth week of the League, Benzema has not appeared in the "Merengue" squad, as medical examinations have proven that he suffers from an injury to the left leg.
He missed Real Madrid's 3-1 victory against Seville in the local league, and then the Leipzig match in the fifth round of the Champions League, in which his team suffered its first defeat this season.
Benzema, who was crowned on October 17, the Ballon d'Or for the best player in the world for the year 2022, has scored 5 goals so far in La Liga.
In contrast to the absence of the French striker, Ancelotti confirmed that "the team will witness the return of Luka Modric, Dani Ceballos, Federico Valverde, Mariano and Rodrygo, and they will all be ready, despite some problems related to their physical readiness in the recent period."
The Italian coach is expected to pay all his cards except for Benzema, in order to avoid any possible surprise from the Girona team, which plays good football and improves possession of the ball, as quoted by "Marca" on Ancelotti.
The Italian coach believes that the race to crown the "La Liga" title will be a difficult challenge for his team, especially since Barcelona, the first contender for the title this year, will fight to the end, although he has suffered some setbacks recently.
Real Madrid leads the League after 11 rounds with 31 points, 3 points away from second-placed Barcelona, and the royal team will face Girona on Sunday at its Santiago Bernabeu stadium, while Barcelona will visit Valencia on Saturday.