Real Madrid without Karim Benzema for Girona clash in La Liga

According to SPORT, Benzema won't play against Girona having missed last week's win against Sevilla plus did not play in the Champions League 3-2 loss to RB Leipzig on Tuesday due to 'muscle fatigue'.

This is in stark contrast to what Los Blancos manager Carlo Ancelotti said last week when he mentioned that he expected Benzema to return for the Girona match.

Benzema had also been suffering from a hamstring problem in September and it took him an extra two weeks to recover from that.

Real Madrid will be expected to beat Girona at home, but some good news for the club is that in spite of a 'small problem', Rodrygo will recover from injury in time for Sunday's match.