At the Théâtre du Châtelet, the French striker appeared without his usual bandage concealing his injured little finger since 2019. An image that has gone viral on social networks.
In exceptional circumstances, exceptional clothing. Monday evening, to receive the Ballon d’Or 2022, Karim Benzema released a gala outfit at the Châtelet theater in Paris. Arrived on the red carpet in a costume inspired by the look of rapper Tupac Shakur, the Real Madrid striker also surprised by abandoning for once the bandage concealing part of his right hand and which protects above all his little finger injured since 2019 .
Read alsoBallon d’Or: Karim Benzema, the story of a crazy evening
The sequence therefore did not go unnoticed on social networks and Internet users hastened to enlarge the photos of the player’s hand in all directions, in particular during the presentation of the heavy trophy (12 kg), to note that his little finger, twisted, remained indeed fragile.
Because since January 2019, Karim Benzema has never played without this imposing bandage, in match or even in training. During a meeting with Real Madrid against Betis Sevilla, the striker was thrown to the ground after contact with an opponent. He had fallen badly, both hands in front. The images are not impressive, but the player was quickly writhing in pain before being forced to give up his place, victim of a painful fracture.
Read alsoEuro: why Karim Benzema has been playing with a bandaged hand for two years
Read alsoReal Madrid: Karim Benzema, the game after
«We don’t see this as a problem for his football career, neither for this weekend nor in the future.“, reacted his coach at the time, Santiago Solari dismissing a long unavailability of his striker. The surgery, which would have put the Madrid star on the side for two weeks, had therefore been postponed.
SEE ALSO – The presentation of the Ballon d’Or 2022 to Karim Benzema by Zinédine Zidane
“KB9” ended up having surgery but later injured his hand again. “I don’t have time for surgery anymore, that’s why I play with a bandage“, he said in October 2021. Over time, the bones have certainly consolidated but not enough to evolve on the ground without several layers of strapping fixing a splint, holding the finger.
Now, this bandage sticks to the image of the player. The French team even uses it sometimes to communicate on social networks about its striker and Adidas, Madrid’s sponsor, even made it a marketing tool after obtaining the Ballon d’Or 20222.
SEE ALSO – Benzema celebrates his ‘People’s Golden Ball’ and aims for the World Cup