Manchester United have been dealt with a huge blow against Chelsea with Raphael Varane leaving the field with tears in his eyes as he looked in discomfort.
Due to an injury, the French centre defender had to leave the game. He was replaced after playing 60 minutes against the Blues due to a knee injury sustained while attempting to intercept a pass intended for Chelsea forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The former Real Madrid star covered his face with his shirt to keep the cameras from capturing it, but the grief was not able to hide his chance of playing at the World Cup, which is in less than a month away.
At United, they are already grieving his departure despite not knowing the full degree of his injury because it appeared like Lisandro Martnez and the Frenchman had started to solidify themselves as a perfect pair in recent months. With both players on the field, United finished two difficult games against Newcastle (0-0) and Tottenham (2-0) without conceding, as well as during the hour Varane played against Chelsea. This was after the team’s big loss in the Manchester derby.
And in Varane’s case, former United star centre-back Rio Ferdinand spoke about Varane’s importance and how massive the injury is for United. Speaking on his podcast Vibe with Five, he said:
“Martinez has been top this season but Varane gives us that something different, that speed, that experience and physicality. I think he could be a huge loss. You need them two [Varane and Martinez] back together. We’ve seen straight away that those two together make us a different team, it’s as simple as that.”
Although on paper they appear to be less demanding than the top-level encounters of previous weeks, Manchester United will battle to keep their European dream alive as well as play crucial Premier League matches in the upcoming weeks leading up to the World Cup.
They will play Sheriff in the Europa League group stage on the following game day, and on Sunday they host West Ham. On November 3, they will play Real Sociedad, the team that defeated them at Old Trafford in September, in their most crucial encounter of the group stage as they compete for the top spot.
After that, they will play back-to-back matches in the Premier League and EFL Cup against Aston Villa before concluding the first half of the season on November 13 against Fulham in London.
The main problem for Ten Hag is how long he will be without Varane and how his defence will fare without the Frenchman. Given his previous performances, it is understandable that his manager and club will miss him, and he has earned this importance.
