Raphael Varane left the field in tears during Manchester United's Premier League game at Chelsea, with the World Cup less than a month away.
The French international, who was part of his country's victorious team in Russia in 2018, stayed down after attempting to challenge Blues striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He was seen exchanging some brief words with United boss Erik ten Hag before going straight down the tunnel.
Varane had some injury issues in his first season as a United player, and went off early in the recent Manchester Derby defeat, but has been a regular presence alongside Lisandro Martinez at the heart of Ten Hag's defence. The former Real Madrid man left the field shortly before the hour mark, with Victor Lindelof taking his place.
Varane was named in Ten Hag's starting XI once more as the Dutch coach looked to continue his team's recent unbeaten run. The World Cup winner had partnered Martinez for the clean sheets against Newcastle and Tottenham over the last week.
United have already been without Harry Maguire, leaving them with limited options at the back. The club captain, who had already lost his starting place, picked up an injury on international duty with England.
It wasn't the first time Varane has had an injury worry this season. He only lasted 40 minutes in the defeat to Manchester City at the start of October, with Lindelof also replacing him on that occasion.
It is unclear at the time of writing whether Varane's injury is a recurrence of the ankle problem which came to light against the champions. He missed the Europa League victory away to Omonia with the issue, but returned late on in United's Premier League win against Everton.
The Frenchman missed a number of games last season with a variety of ailments. Most prominent was the hamstring injury suffered in a Champions League game against Atalanta, which saw him miss nine games in November and December 2021.
Varane is the latest in a number of Premier League stars whose place at the World Cup could now be up in the air. Chelsea duo N'Golo Kante and Reece James are both expected to miss the tournament in Qatar, having suffered setbacks of their own in October.
France have been drawn against Australia, Denmark and Tunisia in their World Cup group. They begin their campaign against the Socceroos on November 22.
Les Bleus manager Didier Deschamps is already without Kante, and could be forced to lead his team out in Qatar without Paul Pogba. The boss has already said he will not pick any player who is not fully fit for the tournament, and Varane now faces an anxious wait over the coming days and weeks.
