Europe1 .fr with AFP 7:02 p.m., November 9, 2022

Bothered by pain in the left thigh, the French center-forward Karim Benzema did not participate in Real Madrid's last training before the World Cup on Wednesday.

A physical glitch which should not prevent him from being part of the list of the France team, which will be unveiled by coach Didier Deschamps on Wednesday evening.

As expected, French centre-forward Karim Benzema did not take part in Real Madrid's last training session before the World Cup on Wednesday, but his presence at the World Cup (20 November - 18 December) is not in question .

Benzema and Antonio Rüdiger were the two absent from Real Madrid's collective training at Valdebebas, in the northeast of the Spanish capital, on the eve of the reception of Cadiz on Thursday (9:30 p.m.), last match of the 14th day of La Liga .

The French striker is still bothered by pain in his left thigh, which reduced him in mid-October and which will prevent him from participating in Real's last La Liga meeting before the World Cup, while the German international defender is suffering from pain to a hip.

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"He tried, but he couldn't come back from that little pain. It's not a big deal. He tried, but it wasn't possible," club coach Carlo said. Ancelotti on Wednesday at a pre-match press conference.

The Italian technician chased away the skeptics who think that Benzema preferred to breathe during Real's last matches to arrive fresh in Qatar.

"The first disappointed is Karim"

"The first disappointed with this situation is Karim. He will arrive at the World Cup without having obtained the minutes he needed to be in good condition. The rest, I don't believe, is just nonsense. He had a mild problem, he tried to come back, he trained individually, but it didn't work," Ancelotti said.

Since winning the Ballon d'Or on October 17 in Paris, Benzema has been unable to take part in matches against Sevilla FC, Girona and Rayo Vallecano in La Liga, and against RB Leipzig in the Champions League.

In his absence, Real totaled two defeats, a draw and a victory.

He came back into play for 26 minutes at the end of the match against Celtic Glasgow, on the last day of the C1 group stage, but "his feelings were not good", detailed Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after the game.

This physical glitch should not prevent him from being part of the list of the France team for the World Cup, which will be unveiled by coach Didier Deschamps on Wednesday evening in the 8:00 p.m. newspaper of TF1.

Ancelotti assured Wednesday that Benzema "never thought he might miss the World Cup".

Since the start of the season, "KB9" has missed eight out of twenty matches due to injury.

The match against Cadiz will therefore be his ninth withdrawal.