Paul Pogba has taken Manchester United fans by surprise after returning to training almost a month ahead of schedule.
Interim manager Ralf Rangnick claimed just 10 days ago that the 28-year-old would not be available until well into February, but Cristiano Ronaldo 's Instagram post has revealed that Pogba is back early.
The midfielder has been out of his action since November, when he suffered a muscle injury whilst training with France.
Yet to make an appearance under Rangnick, Pogba could potentially make his return when the Red Devils travel to Brentford on Wednesday or host West Ham on Saturday.
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On Monday afternoon, Ronaldo posted a picture of United's winning team in training.
It contained the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, Tom Heaton, Phil Jones, Luke Shaw, Donny van de Beek, Marcus Rashford and, surprisingly, Pogba.
At the beginning of the month, Rangnick told his club's website : "As far as I know, I was told a week ago, it would be a minimum of at least another four or five weeks before he is fit for training again.
"I saw him this morning before the training session, he was in the locker room, and I hope he will be back as soon as possible."
Quizzed on when the Red Devils' No.6 could play again, the acclaimed German coach explained: "Right now, he's not been part of the training group and, even if he was back whenever, two, three or four weeks, it will take some time.
"It's one thing to be training fit but, on the other hand, he needs to be fit for the match and competition in either the Premier League or the Champions League and this will still take some time."
The image of Pogba was also a welcome sight for supporters because of Ronaldo's involvement.
The 36-year-old has been absent from United's last two games through injury, most recently the 2-2 draw at Aston Villa.
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Asked why Ronaldo once again missed out on Saturday, Rangnick revealed to Sky Sports pre-match: "For the same reason he missed the cup game.
"Yesterday [Friday] before training he still had problems with his hip flexor and we then decided not to train him.
"Then after training I had another conversation with him and we then decided that it doesn’t make sense, if he is still having problems with his hip flexor, to take him on the journey here and then hopefully he can play on Wednesday."
