Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United handed Paul Pogba injury worry after Raphael Varane scare during international break
RTL France journalist Baptiste Durieux (h/t Manchester Evening News) revealed that Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba did not take part in France’s training sessions, handing the club an injury worry ahead of the return to Premier League action.
Currently away on national duty, Pogba was last seen turning out for the French national team on Saturday, with the midfield star playing nearly the entire game against the Ivory Coast in a 2-1 win for his side as the two teams faced off in a friendly.
Club and national side teammate Raphael Varane was also present in the fixture against the Ivorians, but the defender was taken off just before half-time, in another injury worry for the Red Devils. The former Real Madrid man was signed by United only last summer.
France boss Didier Deschamps revealed that Varane was forced off the pitch with a small problem in his foot, with a date on his return not spoken about or discussed as of yet. The Red Devils are struggling this term in defence as is, and the Frenchman’s latest injury setback could not come at a worse time.
Pogba missing from training
Still reeling from Varane’s injury suffered on the weekend, the Manchester side was rocked by yet another piece of troubling news as Pogba was forced out of training on Sunday with a contusion in his left foot. Thus far, it is not believed to be a serious issue.
France are due to play South Africa on Tuesday, but the former Juventus star was missing from their match preparations. Varane, meanwhile, resorted to specific individual training after his latest injury sustained during the Ivory Coast clash, but his training session lasted only just 10 minutes.
A double injury blow for United would be a nightmare case during the international break, with two-first team regulars seemingly ruled out of action next weekend in the Premier League clash against Leicester City on Saturday. Defence and midfield have been areas where we have suffered this season, and potentially losing Pogba and Varane, for however long it may be, will only hurt us more.
The Old Trafford side is currently sixth in the league table, four points away from fourth-placed Arsenal, who also have a game in hand. With a race to secure Champions League qualification for next season approaching the business end, we will need all our best players available to achieve our goal by the summer.
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Our midfield is a better unit when Pogba is part of it, while Varane has come in this term and provided some calmness and solidity at the back. There is no doubt that we have been inconsistent this season when it comes to results, but with these two first-team stars in our lineup, we have an expectation to win.
The World Cup-winning pair will be a terrible miss for us next weekend if they prove to be unavailable for the game against the Foxes, given how we need to put on a winning run in the league until the end to secure fourth spot and beat out our competition. We can only hope for a quick recovery for the French duo at this stage of the campaign- if they are seriously injured, to begin with.
