Champions League winners Real Madrid will have to do without their top striker Karim Benzema at the Club World Cup in Morocco.
The Ballon d’Or winner is missing from the Spanish record champions’ 22-man squad, as is goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy, Eden Hazard and Lucas Vazquez are also absent through injury.
Benzema had already missed the botched dress rehearsal at RCD Mallorca (0-1) with another thigh injury. The Frenchman was also absent from the World Cup in Qatar due to persistent hamstring problems. Courtois also injured his thigh ahead of the RCD game.
In the semi-finals of the Club World Cup, Real and 2014 world champion Toni Kroos and national player Antonio Rüdiger will meet Al Ahly from Egypt on Wednesday (8:00 p.m.), the runners-up in the African premier class. The final will take place on Saturday (8 p.m.). Los Blancos have won the tournament four times.