Manchester United’s Raphael Varane ‘unlikely’ to face Leicester after initial assessment of thigh injury

Raphael Varane is set to miss Manchester United’s match against Leicester on Saturday as he faces “several days’” out with a thigh injury.

The France centre-half was injured during the first half of the Nations League Final against Spain on Sunday and was forced to come off.

According to French newspaper L’Equipe, the initial tests carried out on Varane suggest damage to an adductor muscle will keep him out for “several days” and they say he is “unlikely” to be fit for the match at the King Power Stadium.

Varane flew back to Manchester on Monday and is set to report to United’s training complex on Tuesday when he will be assessed by club medics.

Losing Varane is a blow for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who is already without his other first-choice centre-back, Harry Maguire, who is recovering from the calf injury he suffered against Aston Villa last month.

It means Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof are in the running to be the centre-half pairing against Leicester.

The game is the start of a testing run of fixtures with Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Atalanta among United’s opponents before the next international break.

United have won only one of their past four matches – and they needed a stoppage-time strike from Cristiano Ronaldo to beat Villarreal 2-1 in the Champions League.

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