An update on the status of Karim Benzema ahead of El Clasico

Karim Benzema did not train with the rest of the team today at Valdebebas. He, along with Ferland Mendy and Gareth Bale, trained indoors while the rest of Carlo Ancelotti’s squad did their routine training session. Mendy, of course, is nursing an injury; while Bale wasn’t injured but opted to train indoors anyway.

It’s hard to say whether Benzema will play on Sunday or not, as of now. On one hand, it wasn’t expected that he would train today, and as of this morning, the general feeling was that his place in the Clasico is a doubt, with the most likely scenario being that he doesn’t play. Real Madrid have two absolutely crucial games against Chelsea coming up in the Champions League quarter-finals, and risking the French striker for one of the least meaningful Clasicos in years does not seem like a well-calculated gamble.

But this could go either way. The tests run on Benzema haven’t been worrying, and Melchor Ruiz of COPE reported earlier today that “sensations are good” when it comes to Benzema’s return for this weekend.

We’ll keep you update dmore on Benzema’s status this weekend.