Yuvraj Singh
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag confirms Raphael Varane will not play for the club until the 2022 FIFA World Cup
In some bad news for Manchester United, Erik ten Hag has revealed that star centre-back Raphael Varane will not play for the club until after the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Manchester United have shown an improvement in form since the 6-3 defeat to Manchester City and amid a tough run of fixtures, the team has been able to grind out results. The confidence was high when the Red Devils faced Chelsea and although the game ended in a draw, there were positive signs of solidarity and resilience shown by the team.
One of the major reasons behind the team’s upturn in form has been the strong defence led by Varane and Lisandro Martinez. When the former came off injured on the hour mark against Chelsea, it understandably ignited a sense of fear amongst the supporters.
Varane’s United career has been scuppered by injuries and the times when he does play, the team looks much better, signifying his underlying importance to the team.
Hence, every fan was active during the pre-match press conference byTen Hag on the club’s official website before his side faces FC Sheriff and the manager confirmed that the French defender will not play for United until after the FIFA World Cup which starts in November.
“Rapha Varane isn’t in the squad.
He will be out, certainly until the World Cup so he will not play in this block [of games] for Man United.”
United have six fixtures left to play before the World Cup starts with three games in the league, two in the UEFA Europa League and one game against Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup.
The games ahead are certainly not as tough as what we had gone through in the first three months with many expecting United to be the favourite to win the game. Varane’s injury however does bring about a problem for the manager who is keen on his fullbacks being part of the attacking transitions, which can leave the defence open at times.
With Varane’s speed and leadership matched with Martinez’s aggression and tenacity, United were able to manage the counter-attacks by the opposition but with the French defender out, it would be a problem to play in a similar manner considering his replacements Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire, not the quickest players that can cover the ground.
It remains to be seen who will partner the Argentine in the defence in Varane’s absence with many predicting Lindelof to have the first go while Maguire also recovers fully from injury.
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The present issue goes to show the importance of squad depth as seen with Manchester City where a player can be replaced by another profile which can function in a similar manner to allow a particular way of play to be sustainable.
Ten Hag would be aware of such and with Varane’s injury issues growing ever since his move, we cannot rule out the manager making move for another central defender in the future which suits the profile that he is looking for.
