World Cup 2022: Karim Benzema out of Qatar 2022 with injury, France announce

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Karim Benzema has been forced to pull out of the World Cup due to a thigh injury, France announced in a statement on Saturday

Karim Benzema arrives at a France get-together ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

France striker Karim Benzema has been forced to pull out of the World Cup in Qatar due to injury, Les Bleus have confirmed in a statement.

This year's Ballon d'Or winner missed Real Madrid's last three games ahead of the tournament and reports earlier on Saturday indicated that he had suffered a fresh setback in training for Qatar 2022.

That news was later confirmed by France in a short post on social media.

"Karim Benzema has pulled out of the World Cup with a thigh injury," Les Bleus said in a short statement.

"The whole team shares Karim's disappointment and wishes him a speedy recovery."

France kick off the defence of their trophy against Austria on Tuesday and coach Didier Deschamps will now need to decide on a replacement for the Real Madrid striker.

Denmark and Tunisia are the other two teams in Group C.

Ben Hayward
Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.