Manchester United's Raphael Varane urges better care for concussion; cites numerous incidents

Following multiple scares during his career, Manchester United centre-back Raphael Varane appealed on Tuesday for improved concussion care for athletes.

Varane cited France's 1-0 World Cup quarterfinal loss to Germany and his team's 2-1 second leg defeat versus Manchester City in the round of 16 clash in 2020 while playing for Real Madrid. The 30-year-old claimed a few days prior to the Germany encounter that he was hit by a ball on the side of his head in a play against Nigeria. 

The French International said, “I was telling myself to wake up in the warm-up […] the first few touches were tidy technically, but it was way too slow. I couldn’t concentrate and stay in the match; I was like a spectator. The match went badly for me (two Manchester City goals came from Varane’s individual errors). In hindsight, I realised it was because of the hit that I had taken […] I really questioned myself after that match, but in the end, I realised that these unusual errors hadn’t just fallen from the sky.”

“What would have happened if I had taken another knock” : Raphael Varane 

The former Real Madrid defender further stated that, “At the start of the second half, there’s a cross where I take the ball on one of my temples, and I run into the net of the opponent’s goal. I finished the match but I was in ‘autopilot’ mode. The staff wondered if I was fit (for the Germany game).”

The veteran Manchester United defender added, “I was weakened, but ultimately I played and rather well… What we’ll never know is what would have happened if I had taken another knock to the head. When you know that repeated concussions potentially have a fatal effect, you tell yourself that it could go very wrong. As footballers used to playing at the highest level, we are accustomed to pain, we are a bit like soldiers, tough guys, symbols of physical strength, but these (concussions) are symptoms which are quite invisible.”