Manchester United have not had good luck with injuries in recent times and it looks like their worries on that front only increased in the game against Atalanta. The 2-2 result was a decent one for the Red Devils and puts them in a strong position in their UEFA Champions League group. But Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must have been worried seeing Raphael Varane being forced off the pitch in the first-half itself.
The French World Cup winner had spent a spell on the sidelines and had only returned to the pitch recently, putting in an impressive performance at the weekend and solidifying Manchester United’s struggling backline.
Thus, this could possibly be a major blow for the Red Devils. Although the extent of the injury is not known yet, the first assessment does not appear to be a positive one for Manchester United.
As reported by Sky Sports, talking about the situation, Solskjaer said:
"“First look at it, is he felt his hamstring. We have to look at him tomorrow. But he felt his hamstring as he ran tightening up. So he didn’t want to risk anything. First assessment doesn’t look good but we’ll assess him again tomorrow and fingers crossed.”"
Manchester United have a major Varane injury worry on their hands
It is safe to say that Varane is a massive part of this defence and him being out of action for any considerable length of time could be a huge worry for the club, with a tough run of games coming up.
We have already seen this defence struggle in Varane’s absence and that could be the case once again moving forward. The next game is a very important one, against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the Premier League. And it does feel like there is little to no chance of the French defender being fit enough to feature for that game.
Fortunately for Manchester United, there is an international break after the Manchester Derby, which will give Varane a couple of weeks to rest and recover. Let’s just hope that it does turn out to be a very serious injury and he is back on the pitch as soon as possible.