Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has already dropped a major hint that £80million captain Harry Maguire could stand in for Raphael Varane while he recovers from his latest injury concern. Varane, 29, is set for more time on the treatment table after limping off against Chelsea.
With the World Cup finals in Qatar drawing ever closer, Varane appeared to be in tears as he made way back into the tunnel at Stamford Bridge although reports suggest the problem is not as bad as first feared with three weeks mooted as a possible timeframe. United have two realistic options in his absence.
Varane and summer signing Lisandro Martinez have struck up an impressive partnership this season and they have established themselves as first-choice pairing at centre-back. It now leaves Maguire and Victor Lindelof competing to replace the France international.
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Sweden captain Lindelof has deputised most recently, with Maguire picking up his own injury. However, now the former Leicester City defender is on the road to recovery, could he be the man Ten Hag turns to after backing him so publicly after being dropped from the starting XI?
Speaking at the time - following humbling back-to-back defeats to Brighton and Brentford - Ten Hag said: "Firstly I have to coach him and I have to back him. But I back him because I believe in him.
"In the period I worked with him, pre-season it was good, really good, training and in the games so then he fell out, but that's also to do with the good performances of the centre-backs who are playing.
"I can see the qualities and even after he wasn't in the team he trained really well and more importantly the quality was really there. You see from his career, almost 50 caps for England, [playing for] Leicester and Manchester United he's performing really well, what you see is high potential."
Ten Hag added: "And then it's about him, the players in the dressing room, the coaches, the manager believe in him. That's what I told him, I'm sure he can do it and he will turn it around. I'm convinced of that."
With Ten Hag having already publicly stated his "belief" in Maguire, the United boss could now show his faith in the defender by bringing him into his starting XI while Varane recovers from his latest injury setback.
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