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Karim Benzema has been left out of Marcelo Gallardo’s Al-Ittihad squad that will compete in the round of 16 of the Asian Champions League this week, according to L’Équipe.
The Saudi Pro League team is set to face Uzbek side Navbahor Namangan on Thursday. According to Spanish outlet AS, Karim Benzema has been left out due to restrictions on the number of foreign players allowed in the competition (5 per team) as well as a lack of conditioning following his absence from the team’s mid-season training camp last January.
Gallardo, a former River Plate coach, has instead chosen Ahmed Hegazy, N’Golo Kanté, Fabinho, Romarinho, and Abderrazak Hamdallah as his five foreign players for the match.
This season, the Frenchman has appeared in 15 Saudi Pro League games, scoring nine goals and assisting five times. As reported in GFFN last week, there appears to be conflict between player and coach due to the striker’s perceived lack of form and involvement in training.
