Paul Pogba has decided against knee surgery, so will have conservative treatment for five weeks and hope to keep both his return Juventus season and the 2022 World Cup within his reach.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, this is the course of action that has been decided by Pogba and medical staff from both Juve and the France national team.
The first part of the treatment regime will be in the gym and pool, then on the field working separately from his teammates.
The midfielder sustained a lesion to the lateral meniscus in his right knee during a training session over a week ago in Los Angeles.
Surgery seemed inevitable, but there were concerns removing part of the meniscus would damage the stability of the knee in future and not fully resolve the issue.
A suture was proposed, but that would rule Pogba out for five months and force him to miss the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The long delays were prompted by fears of making the wrong decision, so following today’s specialist consultation in Lyon, they opted to avoid surgery.