Man United and France midfielder Paul Pogba was forced to withdraw from the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers with his country after sustaining a thigh injury in training on Monday.
Video feeds showed Pogba pulled up during a shooting drill with goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, and limped to the sidelines in discomfort.
A telling sign that Pogba’s injury was not minor was that he was immediately replaced in the squad by the call up of AS Roma’s Jordan Veretout.
The reigning world champions are preparing for their final two qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Finland as they seek to cement a spot at Qatar 2022. They will be doing that without their midfield star Pogba.
Pogba’s absence will not only be a blow for France though but for Man United as well as reports suggest that the midfielder may be out for about eight to 10 weeks.
If the initial scans are correct, it means the Frenchman has played his last game of 2021 and may be back in January at the earliest.
This could also mean that Pogba may have played his last game for Man United given the unlikely prospect of him agreeing to a contract extension before the end of the January transfer window.
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Talks between Pogba and the club have reportedly stalled for months with the midfielder rejecting several of the club’s offers to extend his contract.
The Frenchman will be out of contract in the summer which may force the club to cash in on him in the winter transfer window rather than lose him for free at the end of the season.
Pogba has never been a player short of options as he continues to attract interest from Europe’s top clubs including Real Madrid, Juventus and PSG.
His form for Man United has recently been called into question. He is currently serving a suspension for a straight red card in the match against Liverpool at Old Trafford which led him to miss the 2-0 defeat to city rivals Manchester City and the 3-0 win against Spurs.
Pogba however, has seven assists for Man United in the Premier League so far this season, the joint-most in the division.
The contract disagreement is a messy situation no doubt and both parties would have to make big decisions between now and the end of the January transfer window.
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