FOOTBALL
Injured Pogba out of World Cup in Qatar
Paul Pogba will miss the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, his agent Rafaela Pimenta has confirmed.
Pogba was a key member of France’s World Cup-winning squad in 2018.
He recently returned to first-team training but his agent has now confirmed that “he will still need recovery time from his surgery.”
Les Bleus’ title defence begins against Australia on 22 November, and the World Cup runs until 18 December.
The talented 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.
France manager Didier Deschamps is expected to name his final World Cup squad on 9 November.
Deschamps has previously said he wouldn’t call up Pogba if he wasn’t fully fit.
“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.”
This is a big blow for France who are set to miss out on Benzema, Varane and Jules Kounde as well.