Benzema will NOT play for Real Madrid against Girona tonight due to a leg injury

Karim Benzema will not play for Real Madrid against Girona tonight due to a leg injury.

Los Blancos are virtually out of the LaLiga title contention with the club currently trailing Barcelona by 11 points with eight games remaining.

Carlo Ancelotti's team holds a five-point gap to third-placed Atletico Madrid and their main focus is on the Champions League and the Copa del Rey final.

The 35-year-old striker is among the Madrid players not making the trip to Girona, with Ancelotti also confirming Eduardo Camavinga is unavailable.

It seems Ancelotti is unwilling to take any risks with Benzema ahead of Madrid's Champions League semi-final with Man City in two weeks.

'Benzema and Camavinga received a knock and won't be available,' Ancelotti said in a press conference on Monday ahead of the Girona match.

'If he recovers from the knock, he will play on Saturday (against Almeria). He is too important for us.

'In the last games he has shown a very good level and that is maintained by playing and not saving it. If he's okay, he wants to play and so do we.'

Ancelotti added: 'If the Champions League semi-final was tomorrow, they wouldn't play either.'

The Ballon d'Or winner has started the last nine games for Real Madrid across all competitions, scoring eight goals.

Benzema joined Real from Lyon in 2009 and has scored 348 goals for the club, with only Cristiano Ronaldo having found the net for Real on more occasions.

He announced his retirement from international football last year after missing Les Bleus run to the World Cup final.

Real Madrid face Almeria after Tuesday's clash with Girona, before squaring off with Osasuna in the Copa del Rey final on May 6.