Real Madrid’s French striker Karim Benzema will miss the El Clasico match against traditional rivals Barcelona, scheduled for Sunday at the “Santiago Bernabeu” in the Spanish capital, because he has not recovered from an injury to his left calf, his Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti announced on Saturday.
Benzema’s absence is a major blow to Real Madrid, because he is remarkably brilliant this season, scoring 22 goals in the local league, leading the scorers list.
Benzema contributed significantly to his team reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League by scoring his team’s three goals against Paris Saint-Germain, which ended with a 3-1 victory in the second leg of the final price.
Ancelotti said in a press conference on the eve of the match, “Karim and (French full-back Ferland) Mendy cannot play tomorrow (Sunday). They will stay here with us next week.”
France coach Didier Deschamps had called Benzema to play the two friendlies against Ivory Coast and South Africa on March 25 and 29 in Marseille and Lille, respectively.
Benzema was injured during his team’s last match against Mallorca in the local league last Monday, when he scored two goals and made a decisive pass, before leaving the field in the 87th minute.
Ancelotti has wide options to choose a replacement for Benzema, including Mariano Diaz of the Dominican Republic or Serbian Luka Jovic, and may even give the opportunity to Belgian Eden Hazard or the forgotten Welshman Gareth Bale on the bench of the reserve players.