France and Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema was forced to limp out of their La Liga meeting with Elche.
The source of the catastrophe
There was some tension between Madrid’s fans, with the mighty giants are maintaining their lead and are in the midst of a fight for the La Liga title, and bracing themselves to play against the star-studded Paris-Saint Germain next week in the Round of 16 of Europe’s finest, Champions League.
If the latest updates on Benzema’s wellbeing are anything to go by, however, then fans of Los Merengues need not fret.
When addressed on the issue during his post-match press conference, Carlo Ancelotti admitted that that it would be a major loss for the Los Blancos if Benzema were to not play the further games of the remainder of the season.
How The Match Played Out
Elche started the game strong, looking better than they were in their previous match-up against the men in white.
Karim Benzema was responsible for a missed penalty and Madrid were struggling to convert a number of first-half chances before Elche noted themselves in the scoresheet with a  header on the 42nd minute mark.
Madrid pushed hard in the second half for an equaliser and were frustrated by Elche’s fabulous defending. Pere Milla struck them on the counter attack with roughly 14 minutes to go before Luka Modric scored a wonderful goal with a penalty of his own before Militao’s late goal which was held the equaliser.
As promised by Carlo, Hazard was started on the wing, who was responsible for midweek winner.
Vinicius had a phenomenal performance, but we did not see him scoring a goal.
Benzema’s Updates
The 34-year-old attacker Karim Benzema will miss the Copa del Rey’s Quarterfinals match against Athletic Bilbao, according to a report from ABC. Benzema has suffered an injury which affects his hamstring during Sunday’s game against Elche at the Bernabeu and will focus being ready and fully fit, ready to face Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League which is just three weeks away.
Hence, the French attacker will be out from Madrid’s next three to four games. Los Blancos travel to face Athletic in the Copa del Rey quarter final on February 2nd and then host Granada and visit Villarel in La Liga before the crucial game in Paris.
Assuming Benzema’s recovery goes well perfect, the French striker could  be on the squad list against Villarel. The game time will be crucial and will improve his conditioning and regain some confidence three days ahead of the Champions League match, but the coaching staff will take a cautious approach knowing how crucial of a player Benzema is.
🚨| Benzema is expected to be out 8-10 days if there's no rupture. @javiherraez #rmalive
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) January 23, 2022
