Manchester United defender and former French international Raphaël Varane is calling this Tuesday, April 2, for better treatment of concussions in football, revealing that he himself suffered them several times during his career. “It can go very wrong,” he warns.
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“ When you look at three of the worst matches of my career, there are at least two before which I had a concussion a few days earlier “, declares Raphaël Varane in an interview with the newspaper l’Équipe, referring to the quarter-final of the 2014 World Cup with France (1-0 defeat against Germany) and a round of 16 second leg of the Champions League in 2020 with Real Madrid (2-1 defeat against Manchester City).
A few days before the Blues match that he cites, Varane suffered a shock during the round of 16 against Nigeria: “ At the start of the second period, there is a cross where I take the ball on one temple, and I finish my race in the net of the opponent’s goal. I finish the match, but I’m in ‘autopilot’ mode. »
“ The staff wondered if I was suitable » before the match against Germany, continues the player who ended his international career after the 2022 World Cup. I was diminished, but in the end, I played and quite well (…). What we will never know is what would have happened if I had suffered another head impact. When you know that repeated concussions have potentially a fatal effect, you tell yourself that things can go very wrong “.
“ As footballers used to playing at the highest level, we are used to pain, we are a bit like soldiers, tough with pain, symbols of physical strength, but these are symptoms which are quite invisible », he analyzes. “ We are in a very competitive environment, in which not playing because of a little pain can go badly “.
“ We must talk about the dangers linked to second impact syndrome (second trauma suffered before total recovery after the first concussion, Editor’s note), and to the repetition of shocks due to head play. », concludes the player, also calling for limiting headers in training to reduce the risks.
In England, 10 former professional players and the families of seven others who are now deceased are suing several governing bodies of British football, which they accuse of having “ always been perfectly aware » of the risks of concussions and brain injuries to which the players were exposed, without having taken the necessary measures.