Paul Pogba will miss this year's World Cup through injury, his agent has confirmed.
The former Manchester United star, 29, hasn't played since re-joining Juventus in the summer after picking up a knee injury in pre-season. He was initially expected to return in September but has suffered two significant setbacks on his road to recovery.
Pogba underwent surgery on his damaged meniscus to leave his World Cup hopes hanging by a thread. He did return to first-team training earlier this month but has now suffered a thigh injury that ensures he has no chance of featuring for France in Qatar.
"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," his agent, Rafaela Pimenta, confirmed on Monday.
"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.
"But what changes things are hard work, resilience and discipline, all of which are the only things in Paul’s mind at these challenging times. Paul will continue working giving his very best to be back on the pitch for the fans and his team as soon as possible."
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France's tournament opener is against Australia in Al-Wakrah on November 22.
Pogba wasn't expected to play any first-team football before the tournament due to his knee complaint, but it had been hoped that he would be fit in time to take on Australia. France manager Didier Deschamps had been desperate to have his star midfielder as part of his 26-man squad and had even contemplated naming Pogba even if he couldn't feature at all in the group stage.
However Pogba's injury means he won't feature at all in Qatar, making him the second major French midfielder to be ruled out, following confirmation that Chelsea's N'Golo Kante - Pogba's central midfield partner four years ago, will also be missing.
Kante has been suffering from a hamstring injury which will keep him out until the new year and now Deschamps must piece together a new-look midfield, with Real Madrid duo Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga, plus ex-Arsenal man Matteo Guendouzi in contention for starting places.
Holders France - who beat Croatia 4-2 in the final in Russia four years ago - are one the favourites to win this year's tournament. However, they could also be without key defender Raphael Varane, too, after he suffered an injury in Man Utd's 1-1 draw against Chelsea earlier this month. His current status remains unclear, although it is hoped he will be fine by the time the competition kicks off in less than three weeks.
