Raphael Varane back in full training

Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane is back in full training after 10 weeks out with injury.

The centre-back sustained a knee injury while on international duty with France during the World Cup Playoff matches with Ukraine in November. It was a repeat of the injury that he suffered at the tail end of last season against Espanyol that saw the youngster miss the run in, as Los Blancos lost to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-final and the final of the Copa del Rey.

After the initial injury, Varane travelled to the USA with his teammates in the summer to take part in the pre-season tour, but was unable to feature in official matches until October due to discomfort in his knee.

He only made six appearances before the setback in November. Rather than have surgery, Varane has followed a strict rehab program with the club’s doctors and returned to first team training on Sunday. He could be in contention for Los Blancos’ Copa del Rey match against Espanyol on Tuesday night.

Varane was an impressive performer last season, and prior to his injury, had outsed experience teammate Pepe from the starting eleven at the Santiago Bernabeu.