Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba is absent from the French squad for the 2022 World Cup title defense campaign in Qatar, as he needs more time to recover from knee surgery.
Pogba, 29, hasn’t played a match for Juventus this season since returning to Italy from Manchester United in the summer.
Pogba suffered a knee injury last July and initially decided not to undergo surgery in an effort to catch up with the World Cup.
“After yesterday’s and today’s medical examinations in Turin and Pittsburgh, it is extremely distressing to say that Paul Pogba will still need time to recover from the surgery,” Pogba’s agent Rafaela Pimenta said Monday.
He added: “This is why Paul will not be able to join Juventus before the World Cup break, as well as the French national team in Qatar.”
Pogba, whose last appearance with the French national team was the friendly that ended in a 5-0 win over South Africa in March, returned to training earlier last month before deciding to undergo surgery. , which kept him out of the game until two weeks ago when he resumed his Partial training with Juventus.
Italian media also indicated on Monday that Pogba suffered a thigh injury that will result in his absence for a longer period, while Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri recently said it is “extremely unlikely” that the midfielder will play a match. with the Italian club before the World Cup.
And the absence of some other stars of the World Cup was confirmed, such as the French Ngolo Kante, the Portuguese Diogo Jota, the English Reece James, and the doubts about the ability of other players to catch up with the World Cup, such as the forward Romelu Lukaku from Belgium, Paulo Dybala from Argentina, Kyle Walker from England and his compatriot Calvin Phillips, and Angel Di Maria from Argentina.
