Raphael Varane ‘not happy’ as reason behind Man United vs Newcastle absence explained

Raphael Varane missed out on Manchester United’s 3-0 loss to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

Erik ten Hag said that the defender missed out through illness ahead of the game and lined up with Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof at the heart of the defence.

Following the loss, it has been suggested that Varane’s absence was instead due to another reason.

Social media account Insider United – who had previously deactivated his account on X after leaking injury news that led to suspicions at United that the individual was connected to the club and had access to confidential information – has stated that Varane missed training on Tuesday at the last minute.

The account added that his absence at Carrington was not due to an injury but instead because he’s ‘not happy’ about something.

TalkSPORT added that the French defender was said to be unhappy about being dropped for the Manchester Derby, however, multiple reports stated that Varane’s absence was in fact down to illness.

This news shortly follows a separate report from talkSPORT, which stated that several United players were left unimpressed by the lack of downtime afforded by Ten Hag during their summer tour of the USA.

The Reds played eight fixtures during the summer and four of those came in America. Varane played in five of them.

The defender has suffered several injury setbacks so far this term amongst a flurry of United players to be ruled out at one point or another. This led to an investigation into the reasoning behind the injuries from the club.

Further reports from the Manchester Evening News has suggested that there is ‘growing doubt’ within the squad over Ten Hag’s management at the club.

The Dutchman has insisted that he will ‘fight’ to turn around results but stressed the need for togetherness within Old Trafford, “I have to stick together with my players and fight together.”