Mizgan Masani
Erik ten Hag hopeful of Raphael Varane returning for the FA Cup final
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag hopes that star defender Raphael Varane will be fit for the FA Cup final against Manchester City scheduled on 3rd June.
Varane went off at half-time in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final tie against Sevilla a couple of weeks ago. The initial diagnosis was that he could miss up to six weeks of action. A day ago, Mirror reported that United feared the Frenchman would miss the remainder of this season.
Keeping all that in mind, this is good to hear from ten Hag that he is confident about having Varane for the cup final in June.
Here’s what the Dutchman said when asked if the defender will be available for the final (h/t Manchester United website):
“I think so. Yeah. Varane, for the cup final, he can return.”
United lost Lisandro Martinez for the rest of this season after picking up a fractured metatarsal injury in that same game against Sevilla.
The centre-back pairing of Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof was all over for the second leg against Sevilla, while some solidity was restored when ten Hag partnered Lindelof with Luke Shaw in the FA Cup semi-final against Brighton and Hove Albion.
The Swede scored the winning penalty in that and defended exceptionally well. So, if the manager gets Varane back for the final, he would have a solid centre-back pairing to stop the juggernaut attacking force of Manchester City.
Till then, the Red Devils can focus on finishing the league campaign on a high. The race to finish in the top four is not done yet despite the falling off from Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are nowhere near good enough at the moment.
More Manchester United News:
- Manchester United eye Chelsea shot-stopper Edouard Mendy to replace David de Gea
- AC Milan demand ‘huge offer’ for Manchester United target Fikayo Tomori
- Victor Lindelof relieved to score the winning penalty to help Manchester United reach the FA Cup final
Doing well in the league could translate into producing an excellent performance in the cup final against the neighbours.
