Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does not have a timeframe for Raphael Varane’s return.
Varane suffered a groin injury for France in the Nations League final win over Spain last month and has been out since.
While he is moving ahead with his recovery, fans will have to stay patient before the centre-back returns.
Solskjaer told the club website: “He’s working hard. As I said, it’s hard to put a time limit on players that you don’t really know, but he’s been on the grass and who knows?”
When will Varane return?
There were no guarantees from Solskjaer, but he may hope to have Varane back before the next international break.
After Liverpool this weekend, United face Tottenham, Atalanta and Manchester City before the pause.
The first step is to return to full training and Varane is not there yet. Until that box is ticked off, he won’t be considered.
Solskjaer does have a habit of rushing injured players back, which is what he did with Harry Maguire against Leicester.
That did not pay off at the King Power Stadium, and United will want to ensure there is no repeat with Varane.
That said, now Maguire is back, there is not as much pressure on Varane to rush back and be the leader in the defensive line.
It might be that it proves best to give Varane until after the international break to fully recover.
United have organised friendlies during the international breaks this season, to help with fitness, most notably in the case of Marcus Rashford.
They could do the same for Varane next month, if he needs it, to save him being thrown in cold like Maguire was.
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