Real Madrid News
Benzema has ‘practically recovered’ from injury, could resume training from Thursday – report
It has been a difficult month for Real Madrid superstar Karim Benzema. Due to some muscular problems, the 34-year-old missed a string of matches for his club prior to the mid-season break.
Just when he looked set to recover and join France for their FIFA World Cup campaign in Qatar, a training injury ruled him out of the tournament. It has been a difficult pill to swallow for the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner, who was not part of Les Bleus’ 2018 triumph in Russia.
Back in Madrid, Benzema has been working on his rehabilitation, and according to journalist Carlos Rodriguez, the veteran centre-forward has ‘practically recovered’ from his injury and could join the team when they resume training this week.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti will gather the players who have not travelled to Qatar for the World Cup and start training for the second half of the campaign from Thursday, December 1.
The likes of David Alaba, Nacho, Ferland Mendy, Dani Ceballos, Toni Kroos, Lucas Vazquez and Andriy Lunin will reconvene for training possibly along with some players from the Castilla squad.
And, as per the report from Carlos Rodriguez, Benzema, too, could be back training with the group as early as Thursday, as he has sufficiently recovered from his hip injury.
If true, it would come as a major boost for Real Madrid as they look to defend their La Liga crown. Los Blancos will resume their campaign with a visit to Estadio Jose Zorilla on December 30 when they face Real Valladolid.
And if things go to plan, Benzema should be available to feature for the reigning Spanish and European champions on that day.
The French striker has missed as many as nine matches for Real Madrid this season in all competitions. But he has still managed a healthy record of six goals and an assist from 12 matches.
Benzema will be hoping to make the most of this break to recover fully and help Los Blancos beat Barcelona in the title race.
Marco Asensio is fighting for his future at Real Madrid. The 27-year-old winger is out of contract at the end of the season and there is no concrete decision made by the club over his renewal as of yet.
Some reports had suggested that the club had tabled an offer worth €4 million per year, which the Spaniard did not like as he sought a higher pay packet closer to around €6 million-a-year.
With his future a subject of intense speculation, Asensio had been linked with a move away to Premier League clubs such as Arsenal and Liverpool.
Meanwhile, closer to home, there were strong links to Real Madrid’s arch-rivals Barcelona. Indeed, the Catalans have been touted as potential suitors for Asensio for quite some time now due to the fact that he is represented by Jorge Mendes.
The superagent has close ties with Barcelona president Joan Laporta and reports in Spain have suggested that the Real Madrid winger has, indeed, been offered to the current La Liga leaders.
Amidst these speculations, however, Asensio has seemingly made it clear as to where his heart lies as he awaits a decision on his future.
During last night’s El Clasico against Barcelona, the Real Madrid winger came on as a substitute and went on to score a goal, following which he celebrated at Camp Nou, pointing to the Real Madrid logo on his shirt, showing where his allegiances lie.
The goal, however, was disallowed by the VAR, and Los Blancos ended up losing the game 2-1 thanks to a stoppage-time winner by Franck Kessie.
Earlier today, Asensio took to Instagram and posted a picture of him celebrating with his finger pointing to the Real Madrid logo, reiterating his commitment to the club amidst the links to Barcelona.
As for his disallowed goal, it sparked an angry reaction from Carlo Ancelotti, who questioned the legitimacy of the decision made by the VAR during his post-match press conference.
