The injury to the right thigh that Raphaël Varane suffered on Saturday with Manchester United is "less serious than feared", a source close to the defender, whose unavailability is estimated between three and four weeks according to the french press.
The departure of the 29-year-old center-back, in tears, on Saturday against Chelsea caused great concern within the French team a month before the first game of the World Cup in Qatar. Coach Didier Deschamps is due to announce his roster on November 9.
The French winger, who has 87 caps, underwent more tests yesterday to determine the extent of his injury. The MRI performed, fortunately, turned out to be "relatively positive", according to the source interviewed by AFP. He confirmed an injury to the hamstring (back of the thigh) but "less serious than feared", which allows him to "maintain hope" ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.
The time of unavailability of Varane, not exempt from injuries throughout his career, is estimated between three and four weeks, several specialized media in France assure this Sunday.
The France team launches the defense of its world title on November 22 in Doha against Australia, before facing Denmark and Tunisia on November 26 and 30.
In Qatar, the Blues will be deprived of midfielder N'Golo Kante, who is already out, and they hope to recover in time their 2018 World Cup teammate, Paul Pogba, who underwent knee surgery in September.
