Karim Benzema has reportedly been left out of Al-Ittihad’s mid-season training camp after failing to report for duty due to being trapped by a cyclone in Mauritius.
The French striker missed three training sessions before Al-Ittihad went for winter break and was not present at the squad’s reunion last Friday.
He has subsequently been excluded from their list of players going to Dubai, but his camp insists that he is stuck in Mauritius, where he was on holiday, due to a tropical storm.
Mauritius is currently under a cyclone class one (out of four) warning due to tropical storm Belal, with conditions expected to intensify.
However, MARCA reports that Benzema is nevertheless ‘in the bad books’ of his manager Marcelo Gallardo.
Al-Ittihad feels that the 26-year-old should have been back in Saudi Arabia by Friday, the Spanish newspaper claims, instead of leaving it this late.
The 2022 Ballon d’Or winner joined Al-Ittihad in a three-year deal worth £258million after leaving Real Madrid.