France midfielder Paul Pogba has been ruled out of the World Cup due to injury, his agent has confirmed.
The former Manchester United star, who lifted the World Cup with France in 2018, underwent a knee surgery in September following his move to Juventus and will not recover in time for the Qatar tournament.
Pogba resumed training last week following a torn meniscus but was dealt a further setback in the form of another knee injury.
“Following yesterday and today’s medical review in Torino and Pittsburgh, it is extremely painful to inform Paul Pogba will still need recovery time from his surgery,” Pogba’s agent Rafaela Pimenta said.
“For this reason, Paul will not be able to join Juventus squad before the World Cup break nor the French National Team in Qatar. If wishful thinking would change things, Paul would be playing tomorrow.”
Pogba’s World Cup winning midfielder partner, Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante, has also been ruled out of the tournament with a hamstring injury.
Pogba scored in France’s 4-2 win over Croatia in the 2018 final. Les Blues will face Denmark, Australia and Tunisia in Group D of this year’s tournament, which kicks off on 20 November.
A statement from Juventus gave no timetable for Pogba’s return, stating only that he needed to “continue his rehabilitation program”.
