My knee is fine, says Raphael Varane

Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane has insisted his knee problems are behind him and he is ready to play first team football.

The 21-year-old has has two serious knee operations since arriving in Madrid and missed the final stages of last season as well as much of the early part of this campaign.

But speaking to AS, he said he has overcome his problems and is ready to fight for his place in the team. He also admitted he was getting tired of misleading reports and stories suggesting he is still suffering with injury.

“Many things have been said about my knee but I don’t like jokes about my knee surgery,” he told AS.

“The situation is clear: I was in good hands with Dr Herve Silbert. I keep in touch with him; he did a great job. All is well in the joint of my right knee and I don’t doubt it.”

The France defender was signed by Jose Mourinho from Lens and made a spectacular start to his career at the Santiago Bernabeu. His highlight was probably scoring the winning goal in the Copa del Rey semi-final against Barcelona last year.

Varane managed to dislodge Pepe from the starting eleven last season, but has found game time harder to come by under Carlo Ancelotti this campaign.