Manchester United centre-back Raphael Varane was reportedly missing against Newcastle United in the EFL Cup on Wednesday evening due to illness.
The ex-France international was surprisingly named on the bench for the Premier League clash with Manchester City at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
Red Devils head coach Erik ten Hag said that he had decided to start Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire in the middle of the defence for "tactical reasons", with Sergio Reguilon also left out of the defensive unit despite his recent return to fitness.
Varane was then missing from the squad list against Newcastle on Wednesday, leading to claims that he had been dropped altogether by Ten Hag.
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However, according to the Manchester Evening News, the experienced centre-back was unavailable for selection against the Magpies due to an illness.
The 30-year-old will be hoping to return to full health for Man United's next match, which comes away to Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The Red Devils again struggled defensively in their 3-0 loss to Newcastle, with both Maguire and Victor Lindelof finding it difficult in the middle of the defence.
Diogo Dalot was replaced at the interval by Aaron Wan-Bissaka, meanwhile, with the latter returning from a hamstring issue, and he is now in contention to start against Fulham.
Evans was an unused substitute against Newcastle, while Lisandro Martinez remains unavailable for selection, with the Argentina international recently undergoing a second foot operation this year.
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Ten Hag made seven changes to his starting side against Newcastle following the 3-0 defeat to Man City in the league last time out, but the team were on the end of another three-goal loss.
Rasmus Hojlund, Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes were all introduced shortly after Newcastle had scored their third, and the trio are expected to be back in the XI against Fulham this weekend.
Christian Eriksen and Scott McTominay are also in contention to come back in, but Casemiro has emerged as a fresh doubt due to the injury that forced him off against the Magpies.
Man United have now incredibly been beaten in eight of their opening 15 matches of a campaign for the first time since the 1962-63 season, when their defeats stood at nine at this stage.
Matt Law
