Manchester United’s Raphaël Varane has opened up about the impact of concussion on his body and performances on the pitch.
A year ago, the Frenchman announced his retirement from international football and took advantage of the last international break to have a lengthy chat with L’Equipe.
The newspaper states the Manchester United star is a ‘victim of concussion’, and he also talked about the long-term impact of head injuries on professional footballers.
During the course of a long interview, L’Equipe asked the defender if he has experienced negative reactions after heading the ball. When responding to that, the 30-year-old talked about an incident that he experienced with the Red Devils this season.
“It happened to me this season at Manchester United. During a match, I did a series of headers, and in the days that followed, I felt abnormal fatigue as well as severe eye strain, and I told the staff that I wasn’t fit to train,” he said.
“They strongly advised me not to play, so I had a test with a doctor, the results of which I passed on to the staff, which meant I didn’t play the next match,” Varane explained.
“When I felt better, I resumed training. But if I hadn’t asked for those tests, I’d probably have been lined up a few days later. And to be honest, I still feel bad about not playing the next match because of a migraine.”
The defender, who missed the start of the season due to an injury, made 29 appearances in all competitions this season, which includes 20 league matches.
When asked if he’s in favour of limited heading in youth football, Varane opened up on how he feels he’s ‘damaged his body’.
“Yes, I’m pushing hard for that. My 7-year-old son plays football, and I advise him not to head. For me, this is essential. When I was in pre-training at the Espoirs center in Liévin, I remember that we had training where we only had to do headers, that’s not normal,” he added.
“Even if it does not cause immediate trauma, we know that in the long term, repeated shocks are likely to have harmful effects. Personally, I don’t know if I will live to be 100, but I know that I have damaged my body. The dangers of heading must be instilled on all amateur and youth football fields.”
