The saga involving Karim Benzema continues, and now, he has fallen victim to the rules of the AFC Champions League. The Frenchman was left out of the list of players chosen by Marcelo Gallardo for the first leg of the continental competition's round of 16 due to restrictions on the number of foreign players allowed.

Al Ittihad will travel to Uzbekistan to face Navbahor Namangan, but Benzema will stay in Jeddah after not being among the five non-Asian players chosen by Gallardo.

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In his place, the former River Plate coach has opted for Egyptian Ahmed Hegazy, midfielders N'Golo Kanté and Fabinho, and attackers Romarinho and Abderrazak Hamdallah.

The reason Benzema was not considered lies in his lack of competitive rhythm, as he missed the preseason in Dubai and is currently undergoing a conditioning process.

Al Ittihad will face a tough challenge, as Navbahor has only lost one match in the group stage (0-2 against Al Hilal).