Paul Pogba still unable to play full game with Juventus

Despite a spirited 25-minute cameo with Juventus against Sevilla in their Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday, France international midfielder Paul Pogba (30) is still unable to play a full game, according to Bianconeri coach Massimiliano Allegri.

However, the Italian manager believes the former Manchester United man is improving. Pogba has been regularly coming off the Juventus bench for a month now.

Pogba missed the better part of the season after suffering a knee injury last summer. He delayed surgery in order to be fit enough for a spot in France’s squad for the 2022 World Cup. However, the Juventus midfielder lost his race against time and resigned himself to undergoing surgery. He returned to action in February but, again, he was hampered by another injury – a muscle strain in his thigh.

“He needs games to regain his fitness, he knows it, we have often talked about it”, Allegri said in his pre-game press conference attended by AFP. “For the time being, the important thing is for him to be available for a moment or half an hour. When we’re playing every three days, it is difficult for him to recover enough to play an entire game.” L’Équipe reported yesterday that Pogba is targeting a return to the France squad for the June international break, but he will need to play a full game before even being considered by Didier Deschamps. RMC Sport’s Fabrice Hawkins reported today that Deschamps will announce his squad on 31st May. 

GFFN | Bastien Cheval