Varane out of EURO and Champions League final
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
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France defender Raphaël Varane has been ruled out of UEFA EURO 2016 with a thigh injury picked up in training, meaning he will also miss the UEFA Champions League final.
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The French Football Federation (FFF) has confirmed that centre-back Raphaël Varane is out of UEFA EURO 2016 with a thigh injury. Sevilla's Adil Rami takes his place in Didier Deschamps' 23-man squad for the tournament.
Rami was initially called up as cover for Varane on Monday, but the Real Madrid defender – who is also out of Saturday's UEFA Champions League final – underwent a scan on Tuesday morning which confirmed a tear to his left thigh muscle as earlier diagnosed by Madrid.
"[Varane] will be out for too long considering the schedule that lies ahead for the national team, so Didier Deschamps has decided not to keep him for EURO 2016," read an FFF statement. "As a consequence, Adil Rami will be retained in the 23-man squad."
Deschamps is also without Mamadou Sakho for France's home finals, meaning Laurent Koscielny and Eliaquim Mangala look to be his most likely centre-back pairing.
Rami, fresh from winning the UEFA Europa League and losing in the Spanish Cup final, joined up with the squad at their Clairefontaine training base on Tuesday. The 30-year-old won the most recent of his 26 France caps in June 2013.