Why Raphael Varane didn’t start for France against Ukraine

Raphael Varane enjoyed a stellar debut for Manchester United last week against Wolverhampton and the four-time Champions League winner took that form with him on international duty as he impressed in the 1-1 draw with Bosnia & Herzegovina.

The 28-year-old was, however, left out of their next game against Ukraine, and although Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be happy to learn that his new signing has escaped injury, it’s being reported that he is not ‘100% physically’.

That’s according to French journalist Loic Tanzi, as seen below, who puts Didier Deschamps’ decision to leave Varane out down to fitness.

Read more: Paul Pogba on Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo joining Man Utd

Varane’s transfer to Manchester United was messy and that could have played a part in the supposed lack of match fitness. An agreement with Real Madrid was struck shortly after he returned from holiday, which in turn meant he stopped pre-season training with Los Blancos.

Solskjaer would have been hoping to have Varane at Carrington immediately but an issue with his visa and a five-day quarantine delayed his first training session with his new teammates until after United’s Premier League curtain-raiser against Leeds on August 14.

Understandably, France are managing his fitness and despite a somewhat underwhelming start to their World Cup qualification campaign, it’s ultimately the right decision to ease Varane into the season.

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