Paul Pogba has opted to go for therapy rather than undergo surgery for a lateral meniscus injury he suffered in pre-season training.
Before his visit to a specialist on Tuesday, world football had been flirting with the possibility that Pogba would be added to the list of prominent players that were missing from participating in a World Cup due to injury.
This was because he suffered an injury during a training session with his new club, Juventus, while on their pre-season tour of the United States. There were fears that the Frenchman would opt for surgery, thankfully those were allayed as he has decided to cut down on recovery time by undergoing therapy instead.
Pogba was a key figure as Les Bleus conquered the world in the 2018 edition of the FIFA World Cup, which took place in Russia. He must have equally been concerned as it would have meant missing another opportunity to win the most prestigious tournament in international football.
The France star will still spend a while on the sidelines though as he is set to miss at least the first few weeks of the Serie A season to heal and undergo treatment.
France would attempt to defend their title of world champions, setting out to be the first team to win back to back tournaments after the Selecao of Brazil achieved that feat, emerging as victors in the 1958 and 1962 editions.
According to LaGazzetta, the consultation with the specialist revealed that the 29-year old midfielder suffered a lesion to the meniscus and was faced with various treatment options one of which was surgery.
A therapy regime lasting five weeks was however selected as the optimal option. This would see him out till about mid September, a more favorable timeline compared to the five month period that would have been required had a suture operation been necessary.
Pogba will undergo conservative therapy which would involve the first three weeks in the swimming pool, gym, and physiotherapy with the following two on the pitch to carry out a variety of athletic work. This however is not guaranteed to be a total resolution of the problem.
If it turns out that this is a temporary fix, to a long term problem, Pogba could end up regretting this choice. Some have argued the chosen route would leave him more susceptible to related injuries further down in his career.
However, this is all just speculation as only the player and his physician truly know the state of his body. We can only hope it turns out fine.
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