Manchester United confirm Raphaël Varane absence reason against West Ham

Raphaël Varane was absent from the squad to face West Ham due to illness, confirmed the club

Raphaël Varane has diminished in prominence this season after Erik ten Hag dropped the player from his Manchester United starting XI.

With Mason Mount, Christian Eriksen, Casemiro, and at times Bruno Fernandes unavailable for selection in the last month, Raphaël Varane added himself to the list of players who continue to be unreliable.

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He performed very well in recent games against Liverpool and Bayern Munich but is struggling to gain his place back in Ten Hag’s XI due to his lack of consistent availability.

Varane was not included in the squad list that lost to West Ham on Saturday afternoon, with Erik ten Hag confirming in his pre-match interview that this was due to “illness”.

He has played 825 minutes of professional football this season but was replaced by Willy Kambwala in the team for the London Stadium trip, who partnered Jonny Evans.

United currently sit eighth in the Premier League table, with West Ham leapfrogging the Reds after winning 2-0 at the London Stadium.

After being knocked out of the Champions League and all European competition earlier this month, the only way for Ten Hag’s club to regain their post in Europe’s elite competition next season is to finish in the Premier League 2023/24 top four, but they may sit nine points behind fourth-place come the close of play this weekend.