Pogba, lateral meniscus injury. Recovery times

by our correspondent Fabiana Della Valle

July 25
– Dallas (Usa)

Forty-five minutes on the pitch against Chivas, some flashes of his class, a great shot that could have become a goal and Massimiliano Allegri’s earshot: “Pogba had a good chance at the beginning but then he played too much and he, who he is no longer a young man, he must not do it ”. The American tour of the Octopus lasted so long, that it will miss not only the next match in Dallas against Barcelona (scheduled for the night between today and tomorrow) but also the first full month of the championship, perhaps even longer. The optimism of the early hours yesterday gave way to a decidedly less comforting forecast: the discomfort in the right knee is actually caused by a meniscus injury that will most likely force Pogba to undergo surgery and stay away from the field at least for the next two months. . A bad tile for Juventus, which was aiming for the new number ten for a start in the league.

Intervention in the USA

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Yesterday Pogba did not train, in the morning he stayed at the hotel while the team did their last training in Los Angeles before leaving for Dallas in the evening. He did not get on the flight to Texas and Juventus issued a statement on his condition: “Pogba was subjected to radiological investigations which revealed a lesion of the lateral meniscus. In the next few hours he will be subjected to specialist advice “. The most probable way is that of the intervention: if the consultation that the midfielder will do in the States in the next few hours confirms the feelings of the Juventus doctors, the Octopus will immediately undergo surgery in an American clinic, to speed up the times. The possibilities of avoiding the operation are not many, especially since it is a problem that the player has been carrying around for some time and that it would be better to solve once and for all.

Two months out

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So Pogba will certainly not be there for the league debut against Sassuolo on the evening of August 15th and will also miss the first day of the Champions League, at the beginning of September. The return to the field in case of intervention is a loan for the end of September-beginning of October. Allegri will have to face the emergency by deploying Adrien Rabiot as left midfielder, who did not leave for America for personal reasons and is now in retirement with the Under 23. The former PSG is no longer considered on the market (they had made ahead of some English clubs, but none of the player’s liking) because it is the natural substitute for the Octopus. Against Barcelona, ​​on the other hand, Allegri is thinking of letting the young Argentine Soulé play in that position, who on Sunday was tried in the three-way median with Locatelli in the direction and McKennie on the right. Pogba had stopped training on Saturday afternoon: he felt a pain in his right knee at the end of a technical exercise and immediately asked for medical assistance. When he left the field he was limping and was escorted out by the doctor and another staff member, but he showed his thumb to his teammates to make it clear that everything was fine. On Sunday morning he stayed at the hotel, while his teammates trained on the Loyola Marymouth University field, to work in the gym and in the swimming pool. In the afternoon, however, he followed his teammates from the sidelines, having fun spinning the ball with his hands and on his head and indulging in the selfies of the fans. He asked him how he felt he had replied “good”, perhaps to ward off bad thoughts. The exams, however, have swept away any remaining doubts: the Octopus tour is already over and the fans will have to wait a little longer to enjoy his magic. fdv