France centre-back Raphael Varane said on Sunday he made a lot of “sacrifices” to be fit for the World Cup after injuring his thigh playing for Manchester United in October.
The 29-year-old left the pitch in tears after falling awkwardly in United’s 1-1 draw at Chelsea on October 22, believing his World Cup dream was over.
“It was a difficult moment. At first I thought I had a more serious injury that it really was,” Varane said a press conference in Doha.
“I thought it was over for the World Cup.”
As it turned out, his recovery time was significantly shorter than he thought and Didier Deschamps named him in his 26-man tournament squad.
Varane missed France’s opening 4-1 Group D win against Australia but then returned to the starting line-up for Friday’s 2-1 victory over Denmark that booked Les Bleus’ place in the last 16.