Manchester United defender Raphael Varane has admitted he "wasn’t well" after a virus impacted the France camp ahead of the World Cup final.
Didier Deschamps' side lost on penalties to Argentina in the showpiece event on Sunday, with the game having finished 3-3 after extra-time. Prior to the match, France were required to manage a 'virus situation', with several players - including Varane - dealing with 'flu-like symptoms'.
The Reds centre-back, who started in the final against the South American side, did not train on Friday afternoon in Qatar, which meant that he missed training less than two days before the World Cup final.
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Varane collapsed to the turf in extra-time on Sunday and was substituted prior to the penalty shootout. However, the Manchester Evening News understands that he was only fatigued when he was taken off by Deschamps. The defender started in all but one of France's seven games in Qatar, having recovered from an ankle injury in time to be included in the squad.
The 29-year-old has since admitted that he was "empty" and "drained" during the final, with the United man claiming that he "wasn't well", as per The Athletic.
Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper and France captain Hugo Lloris insisted that he and his teammates would not 'hide behind excuses', but suggested that the past few days had been tough.
"We’re not going to hide behind excuses," said Lloris. "It hasn’t been easy over the last few days. Despite the virus, we tried to prepare for the match in the best way possible. One less recovery day may have counted, too."
Lloris also claimed that France were "eaten up" during the first-half, adding: "The only regret we have is that first half, when we went completely wrong. We got eaten up in every aspect of the game. Despite that, in the second half, we came back with different intentions.
"We felt we had room to come back. We did it, also thanks to the talent of Kylian (Mbappe) who was able to carry the team at an important moment. This extra-time was a bit crazy, I have in mind these two actions at 3-3 where we can score. It’s painful.
"But you have to give a lot of credit to the French team with everything that happened. We held on to our 2018 World Cup title."
Varane is scheduled to have this week off before returning to United's Carrington training complex next week. He is unlikely to be available for selection for the Premier League visit of Nottingham Forest on December 27, but could return at Wolves on New Year's Eve.
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