FOOTBALL: Raphael Varane will not return to Manchester United before the World Cup

Rafael Varane’s injury is not as seri­ous as first feared. Accord­ing to ESPN, the defend­er will be out for three to four weeks but will not be back at Man­ches­ter Unit­ed before the World Cup.

Varane, 29, under­went an MRI on Sun­day fol­low­ing an injury that end­ed Sat­ur­day’s 1–1 Pre­mier League draw with Chelsea. But the French inter­na­tion­al believes the diag­no­sis will ben­e­fit his chances of help­ing les bleus defend at the World Cup in Qatar next month.

The injury has forced France coach Didi­er Deschamps to make a deci­sion as Varane is unlike­ly to be ready for the World Cup open­er against Aus­tralia on Novem­ber 22.

France will decide their World Cup squad on Novem­ber 9, but coun­tries can sub­sti­tute injured play­ers until the day before their first match.

Varane refused to leave the Stam­ford Bridge pitch on a stretch­er, pre­fer­ring to walk away.

The news will come as a blow to Unit­ed man­ag­er Eric Ten Hag as he looks to fight for a place in the top four of the Pre­mier League ahead of a mon­th’s break for the World Cup.

Varane was replaced by Vic­tor Lin­de­lof in the match, but the out-of-form Eng­land defend­er Har­ry Maguire has just enough time before Gareth South­gate announces his final selec­tion on 10 Novem­ber. It’s also an oppor­tu­ni­ty to earn mon­ey and prove your fitness.

Maguire returned to train­ing with Unit­ed last week and hopes to be in time for Thurs­day’s Europa League clash with Sher­iff after hurt­ing his thigh in Eng­land’s clash with Germany.