French team: "If Benzema does not play the derby, he will not go to the selection", specifies Ancelotti

And if finally Karim Benzema participated in the gathering of the Blues at the end of September?

Released through injury against Celtic Glasgow last Tuesday (3-0), the Real Madrid striker could finally be called up by Didier Deschamps to play against Austria and Denmark on September 22 and 25.

In any case, this is what Carlo Ancelotti suggested.

Present at a press conference before facing Mallorca on Sunday, the Italian technician spoke of the length of his striker's absence and hopes to find him against Atletico de Madrid on September 18: “We are not going to take any risks.

He will not play against Leipzig (Editor's note: Wednesday).

We'll see if he can play the derby against Atletico next Sunday.

If this is not the case, he will not join the France team during the international break.

“Time is running out for Didier Deschamps who will give his list on September 15.

"We don't have a natural replacement for Karim"

Carlo Ancelotti also confided that he had "no natural replacement for Karim, because he is the best striker in the world.

“But to compensate for the absence of his captain, author of three goals and an assist in four league games, the Italian technician will call on Eden Hazard.

“Hazard played very well against Celtic.

Tomorrow (Sunday), I'm going to play him, I hope he can repeat that", he announced before continuing: "Benzema had a little problem, but last year also he had a physical problem in December, and we knew how to manage it.

This year it will be the same.

Without him, the team played very well against Celtic, especially in the attacking phase.

»

Benzema's medical part.#RealMadrid

— Real Madrid CF (@realmadrid) September 7, 2022

In a press release published on Wednesday, Real Madrid explained that Karim Benzema suffered from a "semitendinosus muscle injury" and "muscle overload in the quadriceps of the right leg".

He should be out for two to three weeks.