Wednesday’s Erik ten Hag press conference was eagerly awaited to find out more about the severity of his defender Raphaël Varane’s injury. Shot in the thigh on Saturday during the shock against Chelsea (1-1), this taulier of France had to leave the lawn in tears. A reaction that gave little hope to his presence in Didier Deschamps’ group for the World Cup in Qatar, which will begin in less than a month.
The Manchester United manager was no longer reassuring, announcing that Raphaël Varane “will definitely be out of the World Cup”. The former Real Madrid player is therefore not expected to play even one of the six Red Devils matches scheduled until 13 November.
When asked about his player’s chances of participating in the World Cup in Qatar, Erik ten Hag nevertheless replied: “I think it’s possible, but we need to see how his rehabilitation will evolve.” Didier Deschamps told AFP on Tuesday night that “the door remains open” for Mike Maignan and Raphaël Varane, whose injury he said was “less problematic” than that of Paul Pogba, who hasn’t played a game in six months.
