Raphael Varane suffers a possible World Cup disappointment as the French defender is left in tears after being sent off with injury in Manchester United’s clash with Chelsea… making him a serious doubt for the tournament in Qatar.
Raphael Varane was sent off just before the hour mark after an apparent injury.
The French defender appeared to injure his knee cutting off a deep pass
The impact of planting his heels into the ground left him on the ground in obvious pain.
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Raphael Varane walked off the pitch in tears after less than 60 minutes against Chelsea on Saturday night after picking up an injury at Stamford Bridge.
The French centre-back was heartbroken and covered his face with his shirt to hide his anguish at being substituted ahead of schedule.
Varane appeared to have hurt his knee trying to cut off a pass to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and with the World Cup in Qatar less than a month away he now has his participation potentially in doubt.
Raphael Varane left the pitch in tears due to an injury that puts his place in the World Cup in doubt
He had clear discomfort on the pitch and immediately went to the ground after injuring his knee
The 29-year-old lunged with his right foot away from the body to try to reach for the ball and cut off the attack.
However, his attempts to quell the threat left him in a lot of visible pain after the impact of planting his foot on the ground seemed to jar his knee.
The French international required immediate attention and was in obvious discomfort, before being replaced by Victor Lindelof.
His teammates were quick to comfort the clearly devastated French centre-back on the pitch.
However, he was able to get up to leave the field and the nature and extent of the injury have yet to be confirmed.
Varane has a very long history of injury problems, having missed 18 games since arriving at Old Trafford last season.
But that hasn’t stopped him from having a glittering career at the top of the game that has earned him four Champions League titles with Real Madrid and a World Cup victory.
It will be a lift for United and France fans alike that he didn’t need a stretch.
But he may not get the chance to defend his title with France in Qatar after suffering his latest injury, and it will be a nervous wait for both him and Didier Deschamps as he hopes to be fit in time for the tournament.
Varane has made 85 appearances for his country and is one of the team’s most important defensive figures, having played every minute of their triumphant World Cup campaign in Russia four years ago.
In total, in France’s two previous World Cup campaigns and their poor showing at Euro 2020, the 30-year-old played 1,239 minutes out of a possible 1,300 and as such his absence would be a huge blow.
Les Bleus kick off their World Cup defense against Australia on November 22, before facing Denmark and Tunisia over the next eight days.
Should the injury rule him out of the World Cup, his absence would be a huge blow to France.