-
France’s Paul Pogba has been ruled out of the World Cup following knee surgery.
On October 31st, 2022, Paul Pogba’s agent announces that Pogba will miss the World Cup in Qatar after failing to recover from knee surgery.
Pogba underwent an operation in September, but his agent said that, after a medical review, the midfielder would not yet return to the Juventus squad or join up with France for the World Cup, which takes place from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18.
“Following yesterday and today’s medical review in Torino and Pittsburgh, it is extremely painful to inform Paul Pogba will still need recovery time from his surgery,” agent Rafaela Pimenta said.
“For this reason, Paul will not be able to join Juventus squad before the World Cup break nor the French national team in Qatar. If wishful thinking would change things, Paul would be playing tomorrow.”
The 29-year-old returned to Juventus from Manchester United on a free transfer in July but has yet to play a single minute for the club this year.
Pogba suffered a knee injury in July while participating in preseason training with the Serie A team. At first, he thought about forgoing meniscus surgery, but he later changed his mind.
RELATED:
- Jurgen Klopp reacts to the claim current Liverpool team is at the end of their cycle
- Nigeria U-17 Flamingos, dance to Kizz Daniel’s song Odo with Germany players to celebrate their win
- Lewis Hamilton responds to being ‘booed all day’ at Mexican GP
He faced a race against time to recover in time to lead Les Bleus into the 2022 tournament and France boss Didier Deschamps was also aware of the situation.
Paul Pogba will miss the Qatar 2022 World Cup due to new injury, confirmed by his agent Rafaela Pimenta. 🚨🇫🇷 #Pogba
Pogba has not played one single official game with Juventus since he signed the contract last July. pic.twitter.com/nn13g6xGIX
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 31, 2022
Juventus released a statement on Monday that read: “Paul Pogba, in light of the recent radiological examinations performed at J|Medical and the consultation carried out in Pittsburgh by Prof. Volker Musahl on the evaluation of his knee, needs to continue his rehabilitation program.”
The announcement is a major loss for the defending world champions France, who will also miss this year’s tournament due to the absence of Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante.
Now, it’s anticipated that Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot will start for France in midfield against Australia on November 22.
Pogba was one of France’s most influential players in their 2018 World Cup triumph, scoring in the 4-2 win over Croatia in the final as they won the trophy for the second time.
France will face Australia, Denmark and Tunisia in Group D at the World Cup finals.