After a detailed examination by team doctors, United officially announced on Tuesday that French centre-back Varane would be out for a few weeks with injury. He strained the adductor groin in the first half of the UEFA Nations League final against Spain, and the lightest injury required a week or two of rest.
Varane, 28, returned to Manchester United's Carrington training ground on Tuesday with Pogba and Martial, where experts scanned him to confirm he would miss a number of key games. Manchester United's official statement stated: "Raphael Varane suffered a groin muscle strain in the UEFA Nations League final and will recover from the injury at the club. He will be absent for a few weeks."
In the final in San Siro, Varane was able to walk off the pitch on his own and participated in the championship celebration after the game, which meant that his injury was not the worst third-degree strain. However, the phrase "a few weeks" shows that United's £43 million iron guard strain is not the lightest first-degree strain. Judging from experience, the absence time of the second-degree strain is two and a half to three weeks.
Based on a three-week time frame, the Manchester Evening News predicts that Varane will not only miss leicester City this weekend, but will also most likely miss all the rest of October' matches, including the Champions League against Atalanta, the Premier League against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. It is still unknown whether it will be possible to catch up with the next international match between Atalanta (November 3) and Manchester City (November 6).
Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has been sidelined with a calf strain in the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa and has not been able to return to full training during the international break, meaning the Red Devils captain will also be largely determined to miss the game against the Blue Foxes. This means that United's main centre-back can only be Lindelof and Eric Bai, the pair of centre-backs brought in by Mourinho, and the bench will be Phil Jones, who has been away from the stadium for almost two years, a 10-year veteran left by Sir Alex Ferguson!
To Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's slight reassurance, in Sweden's last match of the international matchday, the new captain Lindelev was not injured, finished the game safely, and beat Greece 2-0 in the World Preliminary Round in Group B of the European Zone, pushing Spain to the top of the table. Lindlev has just welcomed the birth of his second child, and perhaps this will motivate him to play better.
The absence of the main centre-back is not the end of the world, in the 2016/17 season coached by Mourinho, Manchester United suffered from injuries to the main centre-backs, when Bai and Smalling and others could not compete, the madman finally used Jones with Marcos Rojo, the effect was unexpectedly good, the team achieved a good record. The two have partnered seven times in the Premier League, with United unbeaten with 4 wins and 3 draws, conceding only five goals. But then Rojo was injured, and the Red Devils eventually played center-back with Smalling and Blind, winning the Europa League final with Ajax.
In Saturday's game between The King's Power Stadium and Leicester City, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be missing two other important players, the South American World Preliminary Tournament Brazil vs Uruguay, which will be played on Friday, while Manchester United's Fred and Cavani will both play, so by the time they finish the game and fly back to England, they will not be able to catch up with the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. However, The returning English star Marcus Rashford, the shooter who has just been promoted to Honorary Doctor, will be able to make a comeback to replace Edani.