Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag lauded Raphael Varane's performance on his return to club football nine days after the World Cup final.
The France international played 113 minutes in the final defeat to Argentina in the Lusail Stadium and Varane lasted 77 minutes in the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest, having offered to start amid a defensive injury crisis.
Harry Maguire is still not 100 per cent fit after contracting a virus towards the end of England's World Cup run in Qatar, Victor Lindelof was absent due to illness while Lisandro Martinez has only just returned from celebrating Argentina's World Cup win in his homeland.