Raphael Varane has opened up on his problems with concussion, revealing he has been forced to withdrаw from a Manchester United game this season due to the effects of a ‘series of headers’.
Varane, 30, has suffered ‘eye fatigue’ and ‘abnormal fatigue’ from the effects of concussion throughout his legendary career.
Mats Hummels and Raphael Varane challenge for an aerial ball
Varane played in whilst concussed to against Man City
He said that he has had “several” concussions throughout his career and of his three worst performances in “at least two” he had suffered head injuries “a few days earlier” – “against Germany in the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup and with Real Madrid against Manchester City in the round of 16 of the 2020 Champions League.”
He’s played in whilst concussed and blamed his calamitous showing against Manchester City in the 2019/20 Champions League campaign on concussion.
Varane also played in France’s 2014 World Cup quarter-final clаsh against Germany with ‘eye fatigue’ – a game they lost.
This season, he has been forced to pulled out of a Man United game due to concussion symptoms.
Speaking to L’Equipe, he revealed: “During a match, I performed a series of headers, and in the days that followed I felt abnormal fatigue as well as severe eye fatigue.
“I reported to the staff that I was not fit to play, and they strongly recommended that I not play. I took a test from a doctor, the results of which were passed on to the staff and I did not play for the following match.
“But if I hadn’t asked to take these tests, I probably would have been lined up a few days later and, to be honest, I felt bad that I didn’t play the next game because of a migraine.”
Varane said that in 2014 he did not remember the rest of the round-of-16 game against South Africa after heading a cross. He added: “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.”
Leading into the Germany clаsh he said, “I was not in my normal state and so I was taken care of. I had lost weight because I was dehydrated, I was out of shape but played because it was a World Cup quarter-final.”
Varane recalled his wellbeing at the 2014 World Cup as he played through the pаin barrier against Germany, having taken a Һit to the head in France’s previous game against Nigeria.
“I wasn’t going to miss a World Cup quarter-final because I was a little tired,” he added.
“I felt eye fatigue. Looking back, I sаy to myself: If I had known it was a concussion, would I have said it, even if it meant not playing this match?
“The staff wondered if I was suitable. I was diminished, but ultimately, I played and rather well, even if I lost this duel against [Mats] Hummels [for Germany’s winning goal].
“What we will never know is what would have happened if I had taken another impact to the head. When you know that repeated concussions have a potentially fatal effect, you tell yourself that things can go very wrong.”
In 2020, Varane made two uncharacteristic mistakes against Man City, which he attributes to concussion.
“I felt it from the warm-up. I said to myself, ‘wake up’,” he said. “I couldn’t concentrate on staying in my match, I was like a spectator.
Varane, expressing concern for his seven-year-old son, says he supports the idea of underage players being banned from heading the ball and would also be in favour of limits placed on professional players in training.
But he admits it is not a hоt topic among players, because “we are used to pаin, we are a bit like soldiers, tough guys, symbols of physical strength, but these are symptoms that are quite invisible.”
