Man United midfielder, Paul Pogba will have an operation on his ankle. The Frenchman is set to be out for “three or four weeks,” says manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Pogba made his comeback last month from an ankle problem that had kept him out since the end of September.
He has played eight times only this season after having surgery in the autumn to correct another ankle problem.
However, despite the comeback, the midfielder did not feature in the New Year’s 2-0 defeat by Arsenal because of the ankle problem as well.
“We’ve had scans and it’s nothing major. But it is something that has to be dealt with.” Said Solskjaer.
“He has been advised to have an operation as soon as and we will probably do it as soon as. So he will be out for three or four weeks.”
“it is a big blow because Paul is out now and Scott McTominay is also injured. He is out for a few months.”
“We just hope that Paul can come back in a month-ish. But if Fred and Nemanja Matic played like they did today, I will be happy.”
Pogba-less United shows further cause for concern.
Solskjaer’s side missed the influence of Pogba who has not started a game in three months.
In the match against Arsenal, United had a poor display of the first half. However, a slight improvement was noted after the break.
Rashford tested Arsenal’s keeper, Bernd Leno in the first minute. Once they went behind to Pepe’s opener, United struggled to match Arsenal’s superior energy in midfield.
Lingard was hardly involved while Matic could not get to grips with Ozil, Torreira or Xhaka who often were a step ahead.
It was a game where United lacked Pogba’s influence.
United lifted their match when Lingard’s substitute, Andreas almost made an instant impact as he hit the side netting.
There were also chances for Fred and Greenwood. But, without the injured, McTominay and Pogba, United looked short on creativity in the midfield. The club, therefore, needs to find solutions quickly should they want to maintain a top-four challenge.