10 January 2023 , 12:04
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Hugo Lloris has rubbished reports that suggest he didn't want Karim Benzema in the France camp during the World Cup.
The Ballon d'Or winner was named in the Les Blues squad and was set to play a leading role following his Ballon d'Or success. However he suffered an injury on the eve of the tournament and was forced to sit out for several weeks with Olivier Giroud stepping in.
Benzema did recover in time for the knockout stages but France opted to stick with the squad that had got them that far. There were rumours of senior members of the squad blocking a potential Benzema recall - an idea that the Tottenham goalkeeper has dismissed.
He told of those accusations: “There are a lot of things that have been said, which are either false or ridiculous: the atmosphere was very good before he left, and very good after. But we would all have preferred that the Ballon d'Or winner, when we see what he has brought since his return, could be with us. He’s still a major asset!
“To say that we would have pushed for him to leave is completely false, and I do not see how we would benefit from that. He was essential for 18 months, he helped us win the Nations League, his return would only have been positive. It is really dishonest to claim that some of us were in favour of his departure. When you approach a World Cup, you want to do it with your best players.”
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Benzema, who spent several years out of the international picture, has since called time on his international career, as has Lloris. France were unable to retain their World Cup crown, losing out on penalties to Lionel Messi and Argentina in what was a historic final.
Karim Benzema picked up a training injury that ruled him out of the World Cup (Getty Images)Would France have won the World Cup with Benzema in their ranks? Have your say in the comments below.
The French goalkeeper admits the squad were in shock when they discovered that Benzema's injury had forced him to leave the camp.
He added: “For Karim, we were all a little surprised. What we as players experienced with his departure is this: you train in the evening, he gets injured, you go to bed, and the next day when you get up you are told that Karim has left. Everything happened so quickly. It was presented as a medical package, and we, the players, discovered it in the morning, in a period when something was happening almost every day.”
Benzema called time on his career having won 97 caps since debuting in 2007, scoring 37 goals in that time.