Raphael Varane suffers possible World Cup injury as the France defender is left in tears after being forced off with an injury in Manchester United’s clash with Chelsea… making him a serious doubt for the tournament in Qatar
- Raphael Varane was forced off just before the hour mark with an apparent injury
- The French defender appeared to tweak his knee when he cut in a through ball
- The impact of planting his studs into the ground left him on the floor in obvious pain
- His participation in the World Cup – which starts next month – is now in doubt
Raphael Varane left 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 inconsolable and covered his face with his shirt to hide his distress as he was substituted earlier than expected.
Varane appeared to injure his knee when trying to cut out a pass from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and with the World Cup in Qatar less than a month away, he now has his participation in doubt.
Raphael Varane left the field in tears with an injury that puts his place at the World Cup in doubt
He was in clear discomfort on the field and went down immediately after injuring his knee
The 29-year-old lunged with his right foot away from his body to try to reach for the ball and break up the attack.
However, his attempts to quell the threat left him in a heap of visible pain, after the impact of planting his foot into the ground appeared to snap his knee.
The France international required immediate treatment and was in obvious discomfort before being replaced by Victor Lindelof.
His team-mates rushed to console the clearly devastated French centre-back on the pitch
However, he was able to stand to leave the field and the nature and extent of the injury is still unconfirmed.
Varane has a very long injury history, having already missed 18 games since arriving at Old Trafford last season.
But that didn’t stop him from having a glittering career at the top of the game that saw him win four Champions League titles with Real Madrid and a World Cup victory.
It will be encouraging for both United and France fans that he didn’t need a stretch
But he may not get the chance to defend his title with France in Qatar after picking up his latest injury and it will be a nervous wait for both him and Didier Deschamps as they hope to make the switch in time for the tournament.
Varane has 85 caps 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 both of France’s previous World Cup campaigns and their poor results at Euro 2020, the 30-year-old has played 1,239 minutes out of a possible 1,300, and as such his absence would be a huge blow.
Les Bleus begin their World Cup defense against Australia on November 22 before facing Denmark and Tunisia over the next eight days.
If injury rules him out of the World Cup, his absence would be a huge blow to France
