France striker Benzema ruled out

Striker Karim Benzema has been ruled out of France's 2012 European Championship qualifier against Belarus after failing to recover from an ankle injury.

Benzema will stay with his teammates as coach Laurent Blanc hopes to have him back for Tuesday's qualifier in Bosnia.

Blanc is also without Manchester United defender Patrice Evra, Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery and Chelsea forward Nicolas Anelka - who were all suspended by the French Football Federation for their part in France's World Cup fiasco.

Lille's Yohan Cabaye and Real Madrid's Lassana Diarra also pulled out this week with injuries while Lyon playmaker Yoann Gourcuff is suspended.