Real Madrid injury crisis deepens as Varane ruled out of Chelsea clash

The fears that arose after the World Cup-winning center-back was forced off the pitch on Saturday have now been confirmed.

Real Madrid have confirmed that Raphael Varane will not participate in the Champions League semi-final second-leg against Chelsea.

Varane was withdrawn at half-time in Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Osasuna, although there were no signs indicating that he was in pain.

Zinedine Zidane played down the severity of his compatriot’s injury post-match saying he suffered from a “small thing” and was optimistic for him to be available for the trip to Stamford Bridge.

However, as it turns out, the 28-year-old defender has been sidelined for around 10 days. This means he is expected to also sit out the crunch La Liga clash with Sevilla as well as the match against Granada.

A statement on the medical report released on the club’s official website reads: “After the tests carried out today on our player Raphael Varane by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he was diagnosed with an injury to the right abductor muscles.”

Varane’s misery marks the 58th injury for Real Madrid this season. Karim Benzema, Eden Hazard, Sergio Ramos, Toni Kroos, Ferland Mendy, Dani Carvajal, Fede Valverde, Lucas Vazquez, Nacho Fernandez, Marcelo, Isco, Eder Militao, Mariano Diaz, Marco Asensio, and Rodrygo have all suffered from fitness issues.