Manchester United defender Raphaël Varane has revealed the detrimental effects of suffering multiple concussions throughout his career, stating that they have “damaged his body.”
Speaking in an interview with L’Equipe, the 30-year-old disclosed playing numerous matches for both club and country while coping with the repercussions of head injuries.
Varane, who retired from international football in February 2023, recounted sustaining a concussion during a 2014 World Cup round-of-16 encounter against Nigeria.
Despite the injury, he continued playing, describing his state during the match as being on “autopilot,” expressing uncertainty about his ability to respond if spoken to at the time.
Additionally, Varane mentioned playing with symptoms of a head injury for Real Madrid in a Champions League match against Manchester City during the COVID-19-affected 2019-20 season.
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Notably, he said he left the field against Getafe in a LaLiga game five days prior and felt “intensely tired” in between games, but attributed that to usual end-of-season fatigue until he reached the warmup of the European game and felt so tired he “almost wanted to slap himself.”
