Cometh the day, cometh the hour. World Cup is finally here, but a blow to France as champions suffer a huge injury blow.
It is going to be a pulsating 32 days,
64 games, and 96 hours of high octane football, but to the detriment of the reigning champions France, after a string of injuries hit their squad.
Up to now, four dependable first team players will not be featuring for France in this FIFA World Cup edition. First it was the Chelsea midfield anchorman – Ngolo Kante. The deep lying midfield stalwart will be watching the showpiece just like any other ordinary spectator. This is due to the injury that he sustained when playing for the English giants.
Another blow to France was when their creative midfielder in Paul Pogba, sustained an injury – which automatically locked him out of this year’s tournament. The Juventus midfielder was pivotal in the 2018 World Cup edition in Russia, where he contributed by scoring one of the goals when France walloped Croatia in the finals to lift the trophy.
As if that wasn’t enough, France’s woes continued to spread across the field when Manchester United central defender Rafael Varane also got an injury when the English outfit was playing against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Nonetheless, blow to France may not be that serious in the defence after realization that there is a ray of hope that the Manchester United defender can be played in later matches, should France proceed past group stages.
The latest blow to France is the inclusion into the team’s injury list of this year’s Balon d’Or winner, Karim Benzema. The Real Madrid hitman was confirmed to be out of World Cup squad after tearing a muscle in his left thigh – an injury which will put him out of all games. The quadricep injury sustained was a huge blow for the reigning champions on eve of tournament. Real Madrid forward has been given a three-week recovery period – which dashes his hopes of ever featuring in Qatar.
“Karim Benzema is out of the World Cup,” the French football federation (FFF) said.
“After hurting the quadriceps on his left thigh the Real Madrid striker is forced to give up on taking part in the World Cup.”
