The situation
With double sessions in Valdebebas, going to work even on days off, like last Sunday, October 30. This is how Karim Benzema has overcome his muscle fatigue in the quadriceps of his left leg. An ailment that has prevented him from participating in the last three games that Real Madrid has played (Seville, Leipzig and Girona), and that makes him arrive just for Celtic after finding good feelings the day before. Three absent games in a row before hosting the Catholics. A figure that reaches seven since the whites began their season back on August 10, when they faced Eintracht in Helsinki. It was the final of the European Super Cup and in it, Karim certified the Madrid victory by scoring the second and definitive goal for Ancelotti’s men. In total , Karim has lost more than a third of the Whites’ games: seven out of 18 (38.9% of the total). Last season he did not participate in 10 of the 56 games that Madrid played, 17.8% : he missed two due to physical discomfort and was not called up for it (Elche and Cádiz) plus another in which he was a substitute (the derby against Atlético, days before the Champions League final and with everything already resolved in favor of the Whites in the league championship). The other seven were for various medical reasons (thigh pain, problems in one of his knees, etc). This season is already approaching that ten absences. Ancelotti, who knows the importance and ancestry of the Frenchman, wants to dose.
Caution and the ‘World Factor’
Precisely, it was the Italian coach who came to soften the repeated absences of his captain: “He trained yesterday and he wasn’t comfortable. We must take into account the sensations of him. The clinic is positive, he is not 100% ” , he explained in the press conference prior to the duel with Girona. Days before, in Leipzig, he continued with that idea: “It is better to lose Benzema for one day than for a month” , apart from reiterating several times that what he wants from Karim is for him to be in perfect condition for the second part of the season , which begins in the last days of this year. Dose to the star of him.The age, Karim will be 35 years old in December, it happens for everyone. In the same way that Zidane protected Cristiano, once the Portuguese was in his thirties, convincing him to minimize risks in order to reach the final stretch fresh, Ancelotti intends the same with players like Benzema himself, Modric or Kroos, among others. Meanwhile, time passes and the World Cup draws near. After missing five years of playing with Les Bleus , Karim wants to make up for lost time. Called up for the last European Championship and winner of the League of Nations by defeating Spain, the striker aspires to shine the Ballon d’Or recently won in the World Championship. But he has only played three games of the last eight games, in all competitions. He has three previous matches starting with his national team, today he must play against Celtic, then he visits Rayo (Monday 7th) and the last one against Cádiz (Thursday 10th), to test himself with Madrid. Against those from Postecoglu, where the whites are playing for first place, the Ballon d’Or will be available. His mission, in addition to scoring,It must be to bury the mystery around that muscular fatigue that has made him go with lead feet and not precipitate his return to the playing fields.