Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick has taken a sly dig at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for his poor handling of Raphael Varane.
The France international joined United last summer for a fee of around £40million and he has been impressive when fit.
But Varane’s debut season has been interrupted with a variety of injuries, which has prevented the central defender from forming a partnership with either Victor Lindelof or Harry Maguire.
A groin injury just five weeks into the campaign left Varane sidelined for over a fortnight but he was back in the team for the crucial Champions League visit to Atalanta.
But, Varane was withdrawn midway through the first half after suffering a hamstring injury and he spent six weeks on the sidelines.
Rangnick has taken far more caution with Varane since he took over from Solskjaer and the defender’s only missed a couple of fixtures with non-injury issues like coronavirus and stomach issues.
And the German coach took a slight dig at Solskjaer’s handling of the defender today, speaking before the Red devils’ Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid.
Asked about his options in defence, Rangnick said he was handling Varane with care: ‘When Victor [Lindelöf] came on [vs Tottenham], he played well.
‘As I said, it’s good to have Raphaël [Varane] fully fit again. We looked after him and he looked after himself, not playing too early again. Now he seems to be fit on a regular basis
‘He’s [Varane] very important but with Victor Lindelöf we have also won quite a few games and played well and had a few clean sheets. ‘Right now, we have top players in the centre of defence and it will not be so easy for me to take that decision for tomorrow.’
