It is official now- Manchester United will be without their first string central defender, Raphael Varane, for “a few weeks.” Given how we already know that his partner in first choice central defense, Harry Maguire, will also be out for some time, and well, the Red Devils are now set to have some major issues in this part of the park for awhile.
Guess it’ll be Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly leading the spine of the back line, for the time being. Maybe some Phil Jones action too?
The MUFC statement reads: “Raphael Varane sustained a groin muscle injury in the UEFA Nations League final and has commenced rehabilitation at the club.
“He will be out for a few weeks. The centre-back was withdrawn during the first half of France’s game with Spain, which Les Bleus won 2-1 at the San Siro.”
Varne has played every single minute of Premier League play possible since he moved over from Real Madrid this summer and thus he’s a major loss to say the least. The Frenchman was a key signing this past transfer window as he filled the club’s biggest need.
Varane is set to miss a lot of major matches for United, starting Saturday against Leicester City. United have the first of their two matches against arch-rival Liverpool the following weekend, and two group stage Champions League clashes against Atalanta, plus clashes against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City between now and November 6.
On paper at least, it sounds like Raphael Varane will miss all of this, plus much more.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune.
He co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.