Sport
Raphaël Varane set to be out for ‘a few weeks’ as Manchester United’s injury list grows
It's not looking good for United — their backline, in particular.
Manchester United have confirmed that defender Raphaël Varane will miss the Red Devil’s away game against Arsenal this Sunday as the Frenchman is now set to be out for “a few weeks”.
The veteran centre-back is a key part of Erik ten Hag‘s first-choice defensive partnership and even scored the winner in the narrow 1-0 victory over Wolves on the opening day of the season, however, it’s no secret that he’s had his injury problems since joining the club.
Having been in and out of the squad on numerous occasions in his two years at Old Trafford, the 30-year-old made the decision to retire from international football to focus on his fitness and hopefully prolong his career, but it hasn’t stopped him from picking up yet another injury.
As stated by the club in an update on Wednesday, 30 August, Varane picked up another problem in their win against Nottingham Forest at the weekend and was ultimately subbed at half-time before they completed the thrilling 3-2 comeback, and he will now drop out of the side ahead of a crucial game against a historic rival.
As the message goes on to detail, the World Cup winner and four-time European champion was hooked off after 45 minutes “due to the complaint” and while the full extent of the injury has not been detailed, it is “expected to keep him out for a few weeks.”
This means that Varane will now likely miss most if not all of September and subsequently be unavailable for the Premier League games against Brighton at Old Trafford, Burnley away, and potentially Crystal Palace at home.
Worse still for Man United fans, Varane is just the latest in what appears to be a growing list of injured players which includes, Tyrell Malacia, Kobbie Mainoo, Tom Heaton, Mason Mount, Amad Diallo, and more recently Luke Shaw — several of which are said to be out for extended periods.
One upshot is that they should finally get to see their new striker in action, Rasmus Højlund this weekend, as the previously unfit forward is set to make his debut at the Emirates.
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Varane did at least dismiss the reports that he had given “positive indications” of joining Saudi team Al-Ittihad earlier this month, insisting that he wants to stay and fight for silverware right here in Manchester.
Moreover, his injury will also likely put to bed any further rumblings that out-of-favour number five, Harry Maguire, will be departing the club as he and Victor Lindelöf will be needed to cover Varane’s position and any further defensive setbacks should they arise.
The struggling centre-back looked like he was London-bound when a deal with West Ham was reportedly agreed for a fee of £30m, but negotiations were said to have stalled after the clubs took too long to finalise terms.
With the summer transfer window shutting this Friday, 1 September, it’s still possible that United could recruit another back-up defender and have already been linked with signing Chelsea fullback, Marc Cucurella, on loan to fill in for Shaw and Malacia.
For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.
Featured Image — Raphael Varane (via Instagram)
Sport
Streamer AngryGinge ‘arrested and banned’ from Silvestone at the British GP
Danny Jones
Popular Manc influencer, ‘AngryGinge’, was arrested, fined and ultimately banned from Silverstone at this year’s British GP.
The Salford-born Twitch streamer, YouTuber and social media personality (real name Morgan Burtwhistle) was detained at the circuit after being arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
Ginge recently starred in Soccer Aid 2025 and is a well-known face both on the internet and in the sporting world, regularly working in and around football, and is an avid Manchester United – even featuring in the club’s third kit launch video last year.
The 23-year-old and two other fellow streamers, ‘Chazza’ and ‘Samham’, were accused of criminal damage after sitting in an F1 car whilst recording around the Silverstone complex.
According to reports, Ginge and his peers were alleged to have broken part of a display vehicle.
The local lad claimed they had been asked to pay £30,000 in compensation; national outlet talkSPORT has since confirmed the story with Northampton Police (NP) via an official statement.
“On Friday, July 4, NP received a report that a classic Formula 1 car on display at Silverstone Circuit during the British Grand Prix event had sustained several thousands of pounds worth of damage, which was alleged to have been caused by someone accessing the display stand and climbing into the vehicle.
“Officers carried out initial inquiries, and suspects were identified. Three men, aged 23, 25 and 27, were arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage to a vehicle and taken into police custody.
“Following a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the incident, all three men were released with no further action.”
He and his friends have at least seen the funny side, sharing snaps from outside Northampton Justice Centre; Ginge even played ‘Locked Up’ by Akon as he walked out on stream in an orange jumpsuit.
Burtwhistle went into more detail on the incident on socials, explaining that the trio were taken away in handcuffs and “locked up” for several hours – 15 hours, according to SamHam (Samuel Imie).
All three individuals deny causing any damage to the racecar, even despite users sharing clips from the livestream footage captured for the Red Bull online Content on the day that many argue incriminates them, or at least sounds like it – we’ll let you watch and decide for yourselves.
Ginge himself went on to detail that ridculousness of the situation, explaining how he was effectively detained for watching someone else climb into the vehicle.
He’ll be dining out in this one for some time, you can be sure of that.
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Featured Images — Soccer Aid/angryginge13 (screenshot via Twitch)/Samham (via X)
Sport
Boxing legend Ricky Hatton is coming out of retirement after more than a decade
Danny Jones
Mancunian and British boxing legend Ricky Hatton MBE is coming out of retirement after more than a decade for his first competitive fight in 13 long years.
This is sure to be one to watch.
The Stockport-born and Hattersley-raised fighter first retired back in 2011, but did flirt with a comeback a year later in what turned out to be a one-off fight and defeat to 35-year-old Ukrainian welterweight, Vyacheslav Senchenko.
‘Hitman’ Hatton also got back in the ring for an exhibition match against Marco Antonio Barrera in 2022, enduring eight two-minute rounds after a decade away from fighting, but now he’ll be undertaking an official fight over in the United Arab Emirates.
Lacing up his gloves at 46 years old, Hatton will be facing fellow veteran Eisa Al Dah (same age), who was the first professional boxer in the UAE.
The ‘Pride of Hyde’ may have been out of the competitive sporting sphere for a while, but he’s still remained an active figure in the boxing world.
In addition to training his son, Campbell, who has followed in his father’s fighting footsteps, Hatton has continued to coach other young boxing talents from his gym in Tameside, including John Hedges and Chloe Watson.
Campbell, 24, has won 14 of his 16 fights, losing just twice since he began in 2021.
Meanwhile, his dad – who still boasts a record of 45 victories from 48 matches, 32 of which were by knockout – will be once again focusing on getting himself back in fighting shape for the Dubai bout.
The local athlete has done plenty to dispel the old jabs of ‘Ricky Fatton’ in recent times, mind you, having taken his talents as a once-promising young footballer to play in the Manchester Remembers charity match, as well as the aforementioned Barrera exhibition.
Set for this winter, Ricky Hatton will face fellow veteran Eisa Al Dah in a middleweight contest on Friday, 2 December, telling national media via video call in the recent press conference that confirmed he would be coming out of retirement: “What you’re trying to do there for boxing in Dubai is fantastic.”
Meanwhile, Al Dah added: “It will be a true fight, true action. And I will do my best, because everybody in the UAE and the Gulf, they will watch this fight. The place will be sold out, and it will be watched around the world.”
Will those Haymakers still hit like they used to? Well shall see before the end of the year.
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Featured Images — Russell Harry Lee (via Flickr)/Eisa Al Dah (screenshot via Instagram)
