Manchester United's Paul Pogba faces surgery, out for 3-4 weeks
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has been advised to undergo an operation related to an ongoing foot injury that could keep him out an additional three to four weeks, club manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said.
The France international missed his team's 2-0 loss to Arsenal on Wednesday after complaining of what Solskjaer described as "discomfort" in his ankle.
"We've had scans and it's nothing major, it's something that has to be sorted and dealt within a timeframe and he's been advised to do it as soon as possible, so he'll be out for three or four weeks," Solskjaer said after the match. "We've had consultants looking at him as well and club has been looking at it, the scans have been done by us. We've been without him all season, so the boys who've been playing have been fantastic."
Pogba's absence is a further blow for Solskjaer after Scott McTominay was ruled out for more than a month with knee ligament damage. The Scotland international has been on crutches since suffering the injury against Newcastle on Boxing Day.
"Scotty's been magnificent and we just hope that Paul can come back, he'll be back within a month," Solskjaer added. "If Nemanja [Matic] and Fred play like they did today I'll be happy with them, because they played well, the two of them."
Solskjaer also hinted that the recent rash of injuries are "playing into their decision-making" and the club could pursue reinforcement options during the transfer window.
"Sometimes you think one or two additions would do nicely because we are building towards something, but it depends on whether those players for us are available," the Norweigan said.
An operation would see Pogba miss the Carabao Cup semifinal first leg with Manchester City at Old Trafford on Jan. 7 and the trip to Anfield to face Liverpool on Jan. 19.
Prior to Wednesday's match, Solskjaer said Pogba would be sidelined "for a few weeks" due to feeling some discomfort in his ankle.
Pogba has been plagued this season with the foot injury. He didn't play between Sept. 30 and Dec. 22 and has only made two substitute appearances since then.
Solskjaer said following a 2-0 win over Burnley on Saturday that he expected Pogba to be available at the Emirates for United's New Years' Day game but he was absent from the squad which travelled to London on Tuesday.
Following the victory at Turf Moor, the players were granted a day off on Sunday and Pogba used his to travel to France to attend a charity match. He returned to Carrington on Monday but was not able to take part in training.
Pogba's future at United remains the subject of much transfer speculation, especially since recent comments from his agent Mino Raiola criticising the club.
"Now Pogba's problem is Manchester [United]," Raiola told the Italian newspaper, La Repubblica.
"It is a club out of touch with reality, without a sports project. I would no longer take anyone there. They would even ruin [Diego] Maradona, Pele and [Paolo] Maldini. Paul needs a club and a squad, one like Juventus was before."
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
Source: espn.co.uk
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