Shocker!: Pogba may not play again this year as France injury adds to Man Utd woes
Paul Pogba could have played his last match of 2021 after picking up a serious thigh injury in training with France.
The Manchester United midfielder sustained the problem at France’s Clairefontaine training base on Monday, his first session after joining up for international duty.
French media outlet RMC Sport report that the initial diagnosis on Pogba’s injury will put him out for between eight to 10 weeks, thereby ruling him out of action for United until January at the earliest.
The midfielder currently has one more match of a Premier League suspension to serve following his red card in the 5-0 defeat to Liverpool last month, but he did feature for 69 minutes in last week’s 2-2 draw with Atalanta in the Champions League.
Pogba is still suspended for the trip to Watford after the international break, but if he is absent until January then he will miss crucial matches against the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal, as well as the conclusion of United’s Champions League group.
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He is now set to return to Manchester for further assessment of the injury, and will be forced to sit out France’s World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Finland.
On Monday night footage emerged of Pogba pulling up after striking a shot in training, with the 28-year-old then immediately leaving the field.
The news comes as the latest blow to under-pressure United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has headed home to Norway during the international break as he gave his players who aren’t representing their countries some time off.
Pogba came in for fierce criticism for his red card in that defeat to Liverpool, with the midfielder launching into a studs-up lunge on Reds midfielder Naby Keita just 15 minutes after coming on at half-time.
Former United midfielder Paul Scholes, a frequent critic of Pogba’s, said : “Paul Pogba coming on to the pitch at half-time to try to help the team and maybe get a little respectability, tries to stand on the ball, tries to show how strong he is in the middle of the pitch… gives the goal [the fifth scored by Mo Salah] away.
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“Then later on gets sent off with a ridiculous tackle, now you’re 5-0 down with 10 men. You’d have to think, if Ole’s still a manager there, will we see Pogba again in a United shirt?
“He’s caused mayhem over the last couple of years. Everyone knows what a talent he is, everybody trusts him, every manager trusts him, tried to give him his head and let him be the player he’s been.
“But with all the commotion, not signing his contract, almost holding the club to ransom, and then he comes on and does something like that.
“It’s not Ole’s fault, don’t get me wrong, but that’s part of it that almost summed the United performance up today.”
Pogba is out of contract at the end of the season, and currently appears to be unwilling to sign a new deal.