Varane injured again but no reason for Man Utd to worry
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 26 Mar 2022 10:19 CDT
- 3 min read
Manchester United would have been forgiven for having concerns over the fitness of Raphael Varane when he limped out of France’s -1 friendly victory over Ivory Coast on Friday.
Varane departed the field to be replaced by William Saliba after 59 minutes of the match at Stade Velodrome.
His absence record since arriving at Man Utd from Real Madrid last summer does not make particularly great reading, although there is little evidence that Varane’s issues are set to be a long-term feature.
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Already, for instance, France head coach Didier Deschamps has allayed fears over the knock he took at the weekend, indicating that his issue was a simple contact injury that should have cleared sufficiently for him to feature against South Africa in midweek.
“He took a small blow on the foot and a small hematoma formed. It swelled slightly at half-time but I waited until William Saliba was warm before taking him off,” Deschamps said.
Such injuries are part and parcel of the game, particularly for defenders, who need to put their body on the line when blocking shots or making tackles.
Varane's injury history
Varane has been in and out of the Manchester United squad since arriving last summer, but the injury problems that he has suffered appear to have been confined to the first part of the season.
During this period, he suffered two soft tissue problems. These are generally considered to be more concerning in the long term because they can be recurring. Varane missed two weeks with a groin problem during October and six weeks with a hamstring injury barely a week later.
Varane's Man Utd absences
| Problem | Date suffered | Days missedmissed |
|---|---|---|
| Groin | Oct 11 | 15 |
| Hamstring | Nov 2 | 50 |
| Stomach | Feb 14 | 4 |
| Covid | Mar 1 | 8 |
Since the turn of the year, he has missed only a couple of games for Manchester United, one of which was because of stomach complaints and another was due to Covid.
In the long-term, meanwhile, Varane’s injury history is little cause of concern. Indeed, the muscular problems that he suffered in the autumn are the only soft tissue worries he has had since October 2018. Aside from flu and Covid, the only other problem he has had was a minor leg injury.
Man Utd fans concerned about Varane’s apparently frequent trips to the physio or doctor should rest assured: there is nothing to be concerned about for now.
