Finally the light! After long weeks of absence, Paul Pogba resumed the thread of his history with Manchester United by being established, this Friday evening, against Middlesbrough (D2) in the fourth round of the Cup. His return to competition is not a surprise. As of Thursday, on the eve of the meeting, Mancunian coach Ralf Rangnick had clearly hinted at a press conference. Facing “Boro”, for his 14th game of the season with MU (7 assists), Pogba was lined up in a 4-2-3-1 alongside Scottish international Scott McTominay. Logically short of rhythm, he had a little trouble getting into the game before being present in the game, but cautioned for a foul on Marcus Tavernier, during a first half with a clear advantage. Mancunians. A little more struggling in the second half, he gave way to Fred (81st) and watched his team’s defeat on penalties from the bench.
His last competitive appearance was on November 2, 2021. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was still in office. In Bergamo, Manchester United hung Atalanta Bergamo (2-2) in the group stage of the Champions League. Six days later, the world champion suffered a hamstring injury on November 8, during the last meeting of the France team.
Since then, “la Pioche” had missed the last 15 MU meetings in all competitions. This weight reinforcement will not be superfluous to help a club which is scrapping in the Premier League to keep its 4th place synonymous with qualification for the next Champions League. In C1, precisely, the Mancunians will be opposed to Atlético de Madrid by Antoine Griezmann in the round of 16 (go on February 23 in Spain and return on March 15).
A Litany of Wounds
Four of Pogba’s six seasons in Manchester, who turns 30 on March 15, have therefore been disrupted by a series of stretches, creases, tears and other injuries (right ankle operation on January 3, 2020). In total, these physical problems will have caused him to miss 84 Red Devils games since his return in the summer of 2016, including 82 since April 1, 2017. He had not been used to such hassles from the time of Juventus, where he had missed just eleven games through injury in four years, all in 2013-14, emerging from the other three perfectly unscathed.
At the end of the contract next summer, Pogba still does not know where he will evolve in a few months. His chances of staying in England seem almost nil. Real Madrid and Juventus Turin would have shown a strong interest, but for the moment it is the PSG which holds the rope to attract this Parisian who started football in Seine-et-Marne at Roissy-en-Brie, then at Torcy.