Real centre back Varane sidelined by muscle injury

Published 11/28/2015, 6:30 AM EST

Follow Us

via Reuters

MADRID (Reuters) – Real Madrid centre back Raphael Varane damaged a thigh muscle in Wednesday’s Champions League match at Shakhtar Donetsk, the La Liga club said on Friday following tests at a clinic in the Spanish capital.

Real did not say how long the France international, who had to come off after half an hour of the 4-3 victory in Lviv, would be sidelined but local media reported he would be out for three weeks.

Varane’s injury is more bad news for coach Rafa Benitez, with captain and centre back Sergio Ramos, who sat out the Shakhtar match, struggling with a shoulder problem.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Varane, 22, looks certain to miss Sunday’s La Liga game at Eibar and the match at home to Getafe the following weekend, as well as the Champions League clash at Malmo on Dec. 8.

Benitez is likely to deploy Pepe and Nacho in central defence if Ramos remains unavailable.

Real are already through to the last 16 of Europe’s elite club competition as section winners and are third in La Liga after 12 matches, two points behind second-placed Atletico Madrid and six adrift of leaders and champions Barcelona.

They also play their King’s Cup last 32, first leg at third-tier Cadiz on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Iain Rogers, editing by Justin Palmer)

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Dhruv George

14,311Articles

One take at a time

Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
Show More>