France coach Deschamps has made it clear that he will not bring injured players into the squad, but Varane “still has a chance”.
Deschamps is very picky about the state of French players: “I’m very clear about it, I never take injured players to big games. I’m sure I don’t think about players who can’t play in the first place. But then it depends on the situation. Talk about A player who can’t be selected is a waste of energy, and the medical team can’t focus on the players who can be selected. So let’s focus on the players who can play.”
Deschamps’ unequivocal statement raised concerns about Varane, who was injured while playing for Manchester United and looked to have missed out on the World Cup, but Deschamps explained his words: “But this rule has no effect on Varane. Lane didn’t have much of an impact. He just had a muscle injury.”
Reading between the lines of Deschamps’ words, Varane seems poised to play for France. The Manchester United man was in tears as he was injured, but now it is emerging that Deschamps would be willing to take him and wait a game or two for him. This is good news for him.
(Ivan)