Soccer-We thought Benzema was fine when he reported for France duty says Militao

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - France Training - Al Sadd SC Stadium, Doha, Qatar - November 19, 2022 France's Karim Benzema during training REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

(Reuters) - When France striker Karim Benzema reported for World Cup duty his Real Madrid team mates, including Brazil's Eder Militao, thought he was fine but the 34-year-old was ruled out of the tournament after suffering an injury in training on Saturday.

When asked about Benzema's condition in the last few weeks after he missed nine of Real's last 15 matches due to what the club called "thigh fatigue", Militao said the Frenchman had been struggling to get over the injury in time for the World Cup.