Paul Pogba: France superstar to miss 2022 World Cup in Qatar after fresh injury set-back, agent confirms
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Updated 31/10/2022 at 16:43 GMT
France will be without Paul Pogba for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, his agent Rafaela Pimenta has confirmed. The 29-year-old suffered a knee injury in July and underwent surgery in September, and while he recently returned to first-team training to raise hopes of regaining fitness in time to feature in Qatar, his agent has said that he still needs time to recover from injury.
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Paul Pogba will miss the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, his agent Rafaela Pimenta has confirmed.
Pogba, who was a key member of France’s World Cup-winning squad in 2018, hasn’t featured for Juventus since returning to the Turin club on a free transfer last summer from Manchester United.
The 29-year-old suffered a knee injury in July and underwent surgery in September.
He recently returned to first-team training to raise hopes of regaining fitness in time to feature in Qatar, but his agent has now confirmed that he will play no part in the 2022 World Cup.
“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,” said Rafaela Pimenta.
“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.
“But what changes things are hard work, resilience and discipline, all of which are the only things in Paul’s mind at these challenging times. Paul will continue working and giving his very best to be back on the pitch for the fans and his team as soon as possible.”
Les Bleus’ title defence begins against Australia on 22 November, and the World Cup runs until 18 December.
Pogba hasn’t featured in a competitive game since turning out for Manchester United in a Premier League defeat to Liverpool in April.
The central midfielder has been plagued with injury problems in recent years; his 2021/22 campaign was disrupted by a hamstring problem that kept him out for three months, while a calf injury ended his season early in April.
Juventus hoped Pogba’s return to Turin, where he won four Serie A titles between 2012 and 2016, would help him rediscover his best form, but he's yet to make an appearance under Massimiliano Allegri.
France manager Didier Deschamps is expected to name his final World Cup squad on 9 November, and previously said he wouldn't call up Pogba if he wasn't fully fit.
“He won’t come just to be a part of the group,” Deschamps said in September.
“If he doesn’t play before and he isn’t in top form, it’s pointless to call him up. He wouldn’t want that himself.”
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