Real Madrid News
Official: Karim Benzema ruled out of Real Madrid vs Sevilla due to muscle fatigue
Karim Benzema has been ruled out of the contest between Real Madrid and Sevilla which will take place later tonight, the club have confirmed officially.
Benzema had picked up some discomfort in training yesterday following which reports emerged that the Frenchman will not be involved in the game.
However, it soon emerged that the striker was not ruled out of the contest, following which he was even included in the squad list by manager Carlo Ancelotti.
But later on Friday, reports claimed that a call on Benzema’s availability would be taken after carrying out some tests on him on the day of the match. And it has now emerged that the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner is not ready to participate when Los Blancos face Sevilla.
“After the tests carried out today on our player Karim Benzema by the Real Madrid Medical Services, muscle fatigue has been detected in the quadriceps of his left leg. Pending evolution,” the statement read.
This comes as a blow for Real Madrid, considering that the superstar striker was just starting to recover his form, with goals in back-to-back matches against Barcelona and Elche.
Ancelotti & co. will now hope that the nature of his injury is not serious and he makes a swift recovery ahead of an important run-in before the World Cup.
Benzema will make an appearance at the Bernabeu to present the Ballon d’Or, reports Miguel Angel Diaz of COPE. However, the journalist adds that the 34-year-old will likely miss the next game against RB Leipzig as well.
There is no way back for Eden Hazard at Real Madrid. The Belgian international has not given the management any reason to have faith in his abilities over his past four seasons at the club and is unsurprisingly the most important departure for the Merengues in the summer.
Hazard has one more year on his contract in Madrid. However, it is clear that Carlo Ancelotti does not trust him and that any potential replacement manager in the summer will echo his stance.
According to reports from Mundo Deportivo, Fenerbahce are willing to go all out to sign Hazard this summer. The Turkish side have made the former Chelsea their prime target, yet face a steep task ahead of them.
The 32-year-old is hellbent on seeing out his contract with Los Blancos despite seeing his career sink right before his eyes. It thus becomes complicated for the party to lure away the forward, especially in a competition outside Europe’s top five leagues.
Fenerbahce attempted to sign the winger in the recently concluded winter transfer market. They reached an agreement with Real Madrid but failed to get over the line as they could not convince the player of the move.
The biggest obstacle for the Turkish side will be convincing Hazard to make the move by letting go of his lucrative contract in Madrid. The chances are slim, but not impossible.
Hazard has made just three league appearances and one start for Ancelotti’s side this season in La Liga, a steep fall from last season’s 18 and seven respectively.
His last appearance for the team came back in January when Real Madrid faced Cacereno in the Copa del Rey. In La Liga however, he last played in September 2022 in a 4-1 win over Mallorca.
