Raphael Varane: France face anxious wait over Man Utd star’s injury ahead of World Cup

The France defender was left upset after being forced off in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea

Raphael Varane faces an anxious wait to discover if he will miss the World Cup with the muscle injury that meant he came off in Manchester United’s draw with Chelsea in tears.

The centre-back could discover on Sunday or Monday if he will be ruled out as France, who are already without N’Golo Kante for the defence of their title, could be deprived of another key man.

Varane, who has won 87 caps, was part of Didier Deschamps’ defence as France won the 2018 World Cup and United manager Erik ten Hag is also facing up to potential bad news.

He said: “It is difficult to say how it is now because it is so soon after the game. We have to wait 24 hours and then we will know what it is. We all understand the emotion but the medical [staff] have to do their job and do the assessment and from there can come the conclusion.”

Ten Hag rued United’s lack of a clinical streak as they needed an injury-time header from Casemiro to escape defeat at Stamford Bridge, despite dominating the first half.

He added: “First half [Marcus] Rashford had two big chances, Antony one against one. You have to score goals in such moments because in top games three chances is massive. You have to score.”

However, Ten Hag was happy with their efforts, adding: “I have to make a big compliment to my team. To fight back with a fourth game in 10 days, you see the spirit and how they deal with setbacks. Really good.”