On Sunday, Real Madrid will host Barca at home in the national derby. On Saturday, Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti confirmed in a pre-match press conference that Benzema would miss the national derby due to injury.
On Monday, Benzema was injured against Mallorca and has been training alone ever since. On Saturday, Benzema did not participate in a joint training session with his teammates, meaning he will not be able to play in the national derby. Marca revealed that the French striker will not only be absent from the national derby, but will also not return to the French national team on international match days.
The Newspaper As revealed that Benzema's goal is to return on April 2 and then return to his best form four days later away to Chelsea. In addition to Benzema, Mendy will also miss the national derby with injury.
In a pre-match press conference, Ancelotti confirmed this, "Neither Benzema nor Mendy can play, and they will not go to the French national team. They will stay in Madrid and work with us. ”
"I'm not worried, he's 34 years old and there's always a chance of injury. Every time he comes back, he makes a difference. And, he's just a little bit uncomfortable, he'll recover and play a role in the sprint phase of the season. ”
Asked if Benzema would risk a comeback if it was a final, Ancelotti said, "It's not risky, we never risk it." He didn't take any risks against Paris either, he played because he was physically fine. But this time it didn't work, he didn't participate in the joint training with the team, he still had some discomfort. ”
Asked who would replace Benzema, Ancelotti replied, "Everything has been decided, but I won't tell you." Bale is an option, but we also have Mariano, Jovic, Asensio and Isco, there are a lot of options, but I chose the one that suits the best game for this game. ”
Benzema has scored 32 goals in 34 appearances this season, provided 13 assists, scored 5 goals in the last 2 games, and 9 goals in the last 4 La Liga games, while Real Madrid have scored a total of 11 goals in these 4 games. Marca pointed out that Real Madrid players have become accustomed to having Benzema in the front, everyone is looking for Benzema when passing the ball, and after his absence, Ancelotti must find the best option.
"World Sports" analysis, in the absence of Benzema, Real Madrid's forward strength will decline significantly. Although Jovic and Mariano are both centre-forwards, Ancelotti does not trust them, and it is more likely that the solution will be to have Isco, Asensio or Bale play as pseudo-centers. According to a Marca survey, the trident of Vinicius, Rodrigo and Asensio received 45 percent support.