Paul Pogba has been withdrawn from the France squad for internationals this month due to an ankle injury sustained against Southampton.
The midfielder received widespread criticism for an especially poor first-half performance as Manchester United failed to win their eighth away game in a row at St Mary’s.
To make things worse, Pogba was videoed limping back towards the team coach as the players left the ground on Saturday.
https://twitter.com/PeoplesPerson_/status/1167809175461740544
And it has been since confirmed by GFFN that Pogba had been withdrawn and replaced by Matteo Guendouzi for games against Albania and Andorra this month.
Breaking | Matteo Guendouzi called up to the French national team for the 1st time! Paul Pogba pulls out with an ankle problem.
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) September 2, 2019
A blessing in disguise, perhaps, removing Pogba from the threat of another potential injury when away with France, or maybe the start of a spiral of incomplete updates regarding When Pogba Will Return, much like between September and November 2017.
At this point, it is far too early to say, although Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did not seem to believe that the injury was serious when immediately asked about it following the game.
This midfield, as seen in glaring fashion over the weekend, is already suffering from a dearth of options and quality, even with Pogba in there. It makes for truly grim reading if he is missing for a while.