Didier Deschamps has confirmed France will not call up a replacement for Karim Benzema after he was ruled out of this year’s World Cup with a thigh injury.
Benzema saw his first full training session in Qatar brought to an early conclusion after he suffered an injury on Saturday afternoon.
He was ruled out of France’s opening game against Australia after undergoing a scan, but had hoped to return for their second fixture against Denmark.
However, Benzema took to Instagram to confirm that he had withdrawn from the France World Cup squad on Saturday.
The news came as a blow to Deschamps given the fact France have already lost Christopher Nkunku, Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante.
And when asked of he would call in a replacement for Benzema on Sunday morning the 1998 World Cup winning captain told reporters he would not.
The reporter said to the France manager: “Karim Benzema will be replaced?’, to which Deschamps said: ‘No’.
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Meanwhile, the France national team made the following statement following Benzema’s withdrawal.
“Karim Benzema is forced to give up participating in the World Cup. The whole team shares Karim’s sadness and wishes him a speedy recovery.’
Deschamps added: “I am extremely sad for Karim Benzema who made this World Cup a major goal.
“Despite this new blow for the French team, I have full confidence in my group. We will do everything to meet the huge challenge that awaits us.”
Benzema, who was recently crowned as the winner of the Ballon d’Or, has been plagued with injuries so far this season for Real Madrid.
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