Pogba suffers another injury blow as Juventus return delayed again

James Shearman

• Updated: 14 Dec 2022 16:09 GMT
• 3 min read

Paul Pogba's return from injury has been delayed as he continues to recover from knee surgery.

GOAL reports that the 29-year-old will remain working in the gym and pool, as he is not yet ready to be back on the pitch.

Juventus' Serie A game against Napoli on January 13 was previously touted as an option for Pogba's return.

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Now, it looks unlikely that the Frenchman will be in action before the end of next month, with a lot of work still to be done.

Since returning to Turin, Pogba has not played a single competitive match.

He featured for 45 minutes in a pre-season friendly against Guadalajara before injuring his meniscus in training the very next day in the United States.

That ruled him out of France's World Cup title defence, meaning this year has been an absolute disaster.

Pogba's injury history

Since the start of the 2019-20 season, Pogba has sustained 10 different injuries that have kept him sidelined.

He has missed a remarkable 104 club games due to injury or illness during that time, rising to over 120 when we include national team matches.

Just last season, Pogba endured a long stretch on the treatment table from November to February due to a hamstring injury. He then saw his Man Utd career ended in April by a calf injury.

Injuries were a concern for some Juventus fans upon his return on a free transfer this summer, and that has proved to be the case.

There is no doubt that Pogba remains a truly special talent, capable of moments and performances that only a few in the world can replicate.

But those moments and performances have been few and far between in the last few years.

And just getting him on the pitch – let alone at peak match fitness – has been extremely difficult.

Everyone hopes that Pogba returns to the world-class star that we all fell in love with during his first spell at Juve – and during France’s 2018 World Cup success – but that all seems like a distant dream now.