Benzema fit for Bosnia clash

Real Madrid’s French international striker Karim Benzema gave his country a welcome piece of good news on Saturday by being passed fit for Tuesday’s Euro 2012 clash with Bosnia-Hercegovina.

The 22-year-old missed Friday’s 1-0 opening Euro 2012 defeat at home to Belarus but coach Laurent Blanc said on Saturday that Benzema had recovered from his right ankle injury.

“We learnt at morning training that Karim would be fit,” said Blanc, whose side exited to the customary jeers at the Stade de France after their defeat.

Benzema’s recovery is good news for Blanc as he lost strikers Loic Remy, who has a groin problem, and Louis Saha, who was forced out with a calf injury.

Blanc, who replaced the disgraced Raymond Domenech after the World Cup finals debacle where they exited in the first round with just one point, called up Lyon’s summer signing Jimmy Briand.

Blanc – a World Cup and Euro winner with France as a player – has had to so without a quartet of experienced players – Nicolas Anelka, Patrice Evra, Franck Ribery, Jeremy Toulalan – who all received varying suspensions for their roles in the strike by the World Cup squad over the expulsion of Anelka for a foul-mouthed outburst at Domenech.