Man United will have to cope without Raphael Varane for the next month.
Ole Gunnar Solskajer’s job as Manchester United manager is hanging on by a thread. That said, the Baby Faced Assassin lived to fight another day, thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo heroics against Atalanta.
That Champions League game wasn’t without incident, while United played pretty poorly throughout. However, it came at a cost.
Raphael Varane went down with nobody around him midway through the first half. The Frenchman was immediately signalling to be subbed off, which raised initial concern.
Well, our worst fears have come to fruition. Varane has a hamstring issue, with United being dealt a massive injury blow. The key star is set to be out of action until December, with United confirming he’ll be sidelined for a month.
It goes without saying, this is a massive loss. Varane is already comfortably our best defender and this blow definitely makes our task harder throughout the month of November.
The Frenchman will miss our game against Manchester City this weekend, while also being absent for France over the next international break. Varane will also miss league games against Watford, Chelsea and Arsenal. Plus, a Champions League game against Villarreal. Obviously, timing-wise, this news absolutely sucks.
In terms of what this means for Solskjaer tactically, I’m unsure. If he sticks with the five at the back, then Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire will have to start each and every game until Varane returns. Given that the Swede already has a knock himself, I just don’t see that happening.
With that in mind, I’m fully expecting us to revert back to the back four after the international break. Though I guess we’ll be able to gauge what Solskjaer is thinking in the derby this weekend.
Get well soon, Rapha!
Who do you expect to step up in Raphael Varane’s place? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.
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