A "damaged" Raphael Varane has spoken out on concussions in football, with the Manchester United star advising his son not to head the ball.
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Varane feels 'damaged' after years of professional footballRevealed two matches when he felt concussed and yet carried onAdmitted missing Man Utd game due to 'eye fatigue'(C)GettyImagesWHAT HAPPENED?
Varane, who has experienced concussions during matches for both France and Real Madrid, emphasised the lack of understanding surrounding head injuries in football. He recounted specific incidents, such as during France's 2014 World Cup clash against Nigeria, where he played through the match despite suffering a concussion. Varane revealed how he played on "autopilot" mode after the incident, highlighting the dangers of not recognising and addressing head injuries promptly.
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In an interview with L’Equipe, Varane said: "I finished the match but I'm in ‘autopilot’ mode. If someone had spoken to me at that time, I don't even know if I would have been able to respond."
However, he did not dare to miss the World Cup quarter-final against Germany, which Les Bleus lost 1-0.
"I was not in my normal state and so I was taken care of," he said. "I had lost weight because I was dehydrated, I was out of shape but played because it was a World Cup quarter-final.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Varane recalled a similar incident during a La Liga match for Real Madrid against Getafe in 2020, where he experienced extreme fatigue after taking a ball to the head. Although he was substituted in that match, he continued to feel jaded for several days.
But he could hardly afford to take a rest as the next match was against Manchester City in the return leg of a last-16 Champions League tie. He was not 100 per cent in the warm-up and "felt like a spectator” during the match. He was so exhausted that he "almost wanted to slap" himself in a desperate attempt to get back to his optimum level. It ended up being one of the worst displays of the French defender's Real Madrid career, as his individual errors led to a 2-1 loss for Los Blancos.
DID YOU KNOW?
Varane also disclosed that he became aware of micro-concussions – incremental head impacts leading to concussions – only recently and even had to sit out a game for United earlier this season due to "eye fatigue".
"The first time I heard about [micro-concussions] was this season when specialists came in to talk to us about it… Often, as a player, we don't understand and we don't even think about doing a test," he said.
"Earlier this season, I headed the ball repeatedly during a match for Man United and felt abnormally tired in the following days, as well as having some eye fatigue. I reported it to the staff who strongly recommended that I don't play, and I took a test which meant that I missed the next match."