Manchester United defender Raphael Varane is only set for a short spell on the side-lines after picking up an injury during Sunday’s Manchester derby.
United were defeated 6-3 to local rivals City at the Etihad and were dealt another huge blow when Varane was forced off after 40 minutes after rolling his ankle.
Varane and summer signing Lisandro Martinez have been Erik ten Hag’s first-choice centre-back pairing this season, winning the first five games they have started together and keeping three clean sheets in the process.
As a result, many Red Devils fans have been worrying about how the French World Cup winner’s absence will affect their form, but thankfully for them, there is some good news.
According to L’Equipe, a scan of Varane’s injury has revealed no ligament damage and while no estimated recovery time has been given, it is not thought to be a long-term injury as previously feared.
This will be a huge relief to Ten Hag who is currently short of centre-back options, with club captain Harry Maguire also out with a hamstring injury, while Axel Tuanzebe remains a long-term absentee.
That leaves United with just Martinez and Victor Lindelof who was subbed on for Varane during the derby defeat.
They are likely to start the next game on Thursday as the team travels to Cyprus to play Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League.
Ten Hag is also under pressure to start another big summer signing in the form of Casemiro who was left on the bench in favour of Scott McTominay for the City clash, a decision that angered many pundits.
‘On the day we signed him [Casemiro] we started to win,’ Ten Hag explained.
‘It’s about the team, when the team’s doing really well it’s not against Casemiro it’s for, in this case, Scott McTominay because he performed great in the team, then we got into a run.
‘I’m sure he [Casemiro] will be important for us, and also in the short term he will find himself in the team, but he has to come in a natural way.’
MORE : What Erik ten Hag told ‘unacceptable’ Manchester United stars after derby defeat
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