Qatar World Cup: Paul Pogba ruled out of France's squad with knee injury, confirms agent

French midfielder Paul Pogba made his sensational return to Italian giants Juventus this summer after deciding against renewing his contract with English giants Manchester United. However, before the start of the ongoing season, he suffered a knee injury and has not played a single game so far. While he was hopeful of recovering on time before the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, it does not seem to be the case anymore. Meanwhile, on Monday, his agent Rafaela Pimenta ruled him out of the global competition, and he was uncertain when the Frenchman would return to Bianconeri duty.

Chattering to Telefoot, Pimenta ruled, "Following yesterday and today's medical review in Torino and Pittsburgh, it is extremely painful to [say] Paul Pogba will still need recovery time from his surgery. For this reason, Paul will not be able to join [the] Juventus squad before the World Cup break, nor the French national team in Qatar."

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"If wishful thinking would change things, Paul would be playing tomorrow. But what changes things are hard work, resilience and discipline, all of which are the only things in Paul's mind [during] these challenging times. Paul will continue working [and] giving his best to be back on the pitch for the fans and his team as soon as possible," added Pimenta.

Pogba played a crucial role in France's title win during the 2018 edition in Russia. While national head coach Didier Deschamps heavily backed him to be part of Les Blues' title defence in the Gulf this month, it, unfortunately, would not be the case.