Real Madrid News
Real Madrid confident Benzema will return in time for Real Valladolid clash
Real Madrid captain and superstar Karim Benzema was dealt with a huge heartbreak this past weekend as he was ruled out of the FIFA World Cup 2022 due to an injury.
The 34-year-old had been struggling with muscular discomfort heading into the tournament and had not played Los Blancos’ final few matches before the World Cup break.
While he was said to be closing in on a return, the centre-forward suffered a fresh injury setback, ruling him out of the World Cup.
The Frenchman is already back in Madrid and will go through additional tests at the Valdebebas facility before starting his rehabilitation.
And, according to Mundo Deportivo, Real Madrid are confident that Benzema will be back in time for their first match after the World Cup against Real Valladolid.
The reigning La Liga champions will travel to Estadio Jose Zorrilla on December 30 to face Valladolid and believe that their captain and ace goalscorer will be ready to return to action by that time.
Benzema has already missed half of Real Madrid’s 14 La Liga matches this season including each of the previous four. He has also not played in two of their UEFA Champions League group matches.
In his 12 matches across all competitions, the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner has scored six goals and set up one more.
In his absence, manager Carlo Ancelotti has relied on Rodrygo Goes to fill in as the No. 9. The Brazilian has done well while deployed as a centre-forward and will have a major role to play if Benzema’s fitness woes continue.
But for now, though, Real Madrid are confident of having Benzema back in time for the match against Real Valladolid on December 30.
It is astounding that despite being the biggest club in Spain, Real Madrid do not have many Spanish players to show for it.
Los Blancos do indeed boast of a special diversity in the dressing room, but their lack of locally trained players could pose problems according to MARCA.
The Spanish outlet confirms that UEFA does not mandate the inclusion of any minimum number of locally grown players for a club. However, the Spanish federation stipulates that a club in Spain must boast of at least eight players who meet a specific set of conditions.
Of the aforementioned eight candidates, there must be at least four players who have spent three seasons or 36 months at the club between the ages of 15 and 21.
Currently, only Nacho Fernandez, Dani Carvajal, Lucas Vazquez, Federico Valverde, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Mariano make up the required number on that front.
The problem, however, arises with the condition for the other four players in the list of eight. RFEF stipulates that the second set of four players must have completed at least 36 months in teams attached to the federation of Spain between the ages of 15 and 21.
Only Jesus Vallejo, Alvaro Odriozola, Marco Asensio and Dani Ceballos tick the aforementioned box. However, all four players have uncertain futures at the club and are well-placed to depart in the summer.
There are thus big decisions to be taken over the transfer strategy for June. Real Madrid can work ways to ship all four players out, it would require the re-integration of players like Sergio Arribas, Miguel Gutierrez or Fran Garcia to ensure the fulfilment of the criteria.
With both Vallejo and Odriozola seemingly frozen out of Ancelotti’s plans, their departures from Santiago Bernabeu appear inevitable. Thus, the management could be forced to renew one of Asensio or Ceballos come June.
