Man Utd sweating on Varane injury after star limps off in Nations League final

Raphael Varane limped off in the first half of France’s Nations League final win against Spain, leaving Manchester United sweating over the centre-back’s condition

Manchester United have been left sweating on Raphael Varane after the defender limped off in first half of the Nations League final between France and Spain.

The 28-year-old pulled up after 41 minutes and was replaced by Bayern Munich star Dayot Upamecano.

Thankfully for Varane, Les Blues ran out winners thanks to goals from Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe, who responded to Mikel Oyarzabal’s 64th-minute opener for La Roja.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is already without captain Harry Maguire, omitted from Gareth Southgate ‘s England squad this month which has seen Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly return to contention.

Now the Red Devils could be missing both first-choice centre-backs for their trip to Leicester City on Saturday as the Premier League returns.

Varane signed from Real Madrid for an initial £34million during the summer transfer window but results have been mixed since his arrival.

United are winless in their last two top-flight outings and Solskjaer is under scrutiny.

But the Frenchman is positive about things at Old Trafford as he recently told Premier League world: “It is a big challenge to be at the top with a club like Manchester United.

“I feel people want to win and want to do great things with this club. I want to be better, I want to improve and I want to push myself to improve and be better.”

He also spoke highly of club and national team-mate Paul Pogba, revealing he is a “leader.”

“He spoke to me about the club, about the atmosphere, about the expectations and, of course, he is a great player,” Varane stated.

“He has a great energy, a very positive energy, and he is a leader for the group.”

Pogba was not the only fellow France star that the centre-back discussed during the international break, as he commented on Mbappe’s situation within the Les Blues setup.

The 22-year-old recently claimed he was made to ‘feel like a problem’ with France after missing the decisive penalty in their Euro 2020 last-16 exit.

But Varane was quick to offer support to his compatriot, affirming: “We do not leave anyone aside, it is the commitment of the national team, our mentality and our philosophy. And that will not change.

“I think that within the group everything that happened after the game against Switzerland is quite clear.”

He added: “We are all united, both when things are going well and when things are not going well.”

But Mbappe proved to be the hero for France at the San Siro, scoring the winner for Didier Deschamps ‘ side in the 80th minute.

However, it was not without debate, as he began the move in an offside position and benefitted from an interpretation of the offside rule.

Former Manchester City defender Eric Garcia’s touch on Theo Hernandez’s through ball made it a new phase of play and the Paris Saint-Germain star clinically finished.

It followed Benzema’s brilliant equaliser as Les Blues claimed their second international trophy in three years after winning the World Cup in Russia.