Benzema concedes he is unlikely to be fit to face PSG

Andy West 05:35 19/10/2015
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  • In-form Karim Benzema admits he is struggling to return to fitness in time for Real Madrid’s enticing Champions League clash against Paris St Germain on Wednesday.

    The French striker, who has scored nine goals in 11 games for club and country so far this season, has been out of action since suffering a hamstring injury while on international duty 10 days ago.

    He is desperate to regain fitness in time for this week’s crunch trip to his native country for a game which will go a long way towards securing Group A’s top spot and a potentially crucial top-seed berth for the knockout stage.

    But Benzema appears to be less than optimistic over his chances, saying: “I am doing everything possible to come back as quickly as possible. I am working hard to be there in Paris on Wednesday, but I don’t want to force things.”

    Benzema has also talked up big-spending PSG’s potential in the Champions League, hailing them as possible winners despite their exit at the quarter-final stage in each of the last three seasons.

    “They are growing as a team and they are getting closer to the very best,” he said. “It’s great to have a French team which can cause problems for the top sides in Europe, and they could win the competition.”

    One player who will certainly be named in Real’s starting line-up for Wednesday’s trip to the Parc de Princes is Marcelo, who captained the team in Sergio Ramos’s absence for this weekend’s 3-0 home win over Levante.

    Marcelo was rewarded with a warm ovation from the home supporters after opening the scoring on Saturday, and the popular Brazilian says he is honoured to be held in such high esteem by the demanding Los Blancos fans.

    “I always try to play with joy and motivation in order to make the fans happy, and it is really joyful to hear them chant my name,” he beamed.

    The experienced left-back was also delighted to see Jese Rodriguez make a goalscoring contribution from the bench, and advised the young forward to continue giving his all if he wants to earn more regular playing time.

    Jese has received some criticism for a supposedly less than wholehearted approach to training and a fondness for the high life, and although Marcelo avoided commenting directly on those claims he did make it clear that hard work is the only route to a place in the team.

    “Jese came on, helped the team, scored a goal and he ran himself into the ground,” noted Marcelo approvingly. “Everybody deserves minutes, and it’s the boss who decides – but everybody has to run, to help the team, and those who do that deserve to play.”

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