Real Madrid sort of suffered a blow this week when it was revealed backup center back Raphael Varane will not be available for Saturday's Champions League final against crosstown rivals Atletico Madrid.
France's Raphael Varane reportedly has a thigh injury & will miss the UCL final with Real. A doubt for Euro 2016. https://t.co/l8lstZOGLh
— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) May 22, 2016
From the Associated Press:
The club said tests on Sunday showed that the French player has a "grade 2 injury" in his left thigh muscle.
Madrid said Varane's "recovery will continue to be assessed," but he is likely to be sidelined for about three weeks.
This likely won't affect the actual game unless one of Real Madrid's starting center backs (Pepe and Sergio Ramos) gets injured, as Varane has yet to start a match for Real Madrid under Zinedine Zidane. Still, it's a blow for Los Blancos's back four depth.
Should Varane not make it back in time for Euro 2016, France might find themselves in a bot of a pickle, center back-wise, with Varane in doubt and Liverpool's Mamadou Sakho set to be suspended for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Didier Deschamps and the hosts may have to get creative in the defense.
(H/T ESPNFC)
Contact The18 Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Klomhaus@The18.com or follow him on Twitter @SamKlomhaus
