Paul Pogba has become an enigma at Juventus following his return last year, becoming one of the club’s costliest mistakes in years.
La Gazzetta dello Sport reflected on the Frenchman’s difficult 14 months in Turin, looking back at all his various injuries and struggles following his forced absence from the win over Empoli on Sunday.
Pogba is the highest paid player in the Juventus squad but has hardly featured since his return in July of last year, seeing just 213 minutes of action in that time. Last season, he cost the club €49,689 per minute played.
On July 24, 2022, the Frenchman’s ordeal began when he suffered a meniscal Injury during the pre-season training camp in the United States. The club doctors immediately recommended surgery, but he chose to pursue a conservative treatment plan and met with several doctors in Europe.
On August 2, Pogba went to Lyon to visit professor Bertrand Sonney-Cottet. Following this, he returned to Turin and didn’t change his mind regarding the conversative treatment plan, working in the gym and the swimming pool, hoping to return in five weeks. The club were unsure but let things move forward.
On September 5, everything changed. Pogba returned to the training pitch in line with his plan but was forced to stop essentially immediately due to his knee. It was clear that surgery was needed, so he underwent an operation a few hours later, sidelining him for a further seven to eight weeks.
On October 31, Pogba was suffering from muscle pain and a definitive decision was made: no World Cup in Qatar. He was withdrawn from the France squad and stayed with the club to continue his recovery across the mid-season break.
On December 27, the midfielder sparked controversy after uploading a photo of himself on a mountainside with skiing gear on to his Instagram story. Fans were furious, considering the physically taxing nature of skiing, but he responded by claiming that he wasn’t there to ski. This did little to sway fan opinion, which was starting to turn against the midfielder.
On January 30, 2023, the 30-year-old was in the Juventus matchday squad for the first time since his return. Whilst Massimiliano Allegri decided not to risk him against Monza, he was given a warm welcome by the fans when warming up. The following week, muscle pain again forced him out of action.
On February 28, Pogba made his debut for the club in the Derby della Mole against Torino. He played 22 minutes, and the following match came off the bench against Roma for a 13-minute cameo. By the first week of March, he’d only seen 35 minutes of play since becoming the highest paid player in the squad.
On March 8, the former Manchester United man turned up late to the mid-season retreat called by Allegri. His teammates were having dinner together when he arrived at the training centre and was sent home by the club. He was fined and the following game against SC Freiburg he was left in the stands.
In the following days, Pogba was expected to be part of the Juventus squad for the clash with Sampdoria. Again, he suffered a new muscle problem, making him unavailable from March 12 to April 13.
Days after suffering the injury, Pogba’s adductor problem was confirmed at J-Medical, where he refused to sign autographs for fans or photos, stating: “Sorry, I don’t have the head for it.” He left looking dejected but was expected to return after the international break.
On April 5, the 30-year-old returned to squad training and worked his way toward a brief return against Sporting CP eight days later, where he played four minutes. He also spent seven minutes on the pitch a few days later against Sassuolo.
By this point, belief was starting to grow that Pogba was out of the worst of it. Allegri even expressed his own confidence and started the 2018 World Cup winner against Cremonese on May 14. After 24 minutes, he was forced off the pitch with another new muscle injury, bringing an end to his disastrous return season.
Pogba did not feature for Juventus in their pre-season tour in the United States but did take part in their final friendly against Alessandria. He was left on the bench for the season opener against Udinese but took part as a substitute in their following two matches against Bologna and Empoli.
After the win against Empoli, Allegri confirmed that the French midfielder had suffered a “twinge” near his right knee, the focus of that fateful meniscus operation last year. How long until his return now is anyone’s guess, and the 2023-24 campaign may prove to be no kinder than his first season back with the Old Lady.
Why are you writing fake news? “twinge” near his right knee,” Didn’t know the hamstring was near the right knee instead of in the back of the leg.
Publish the message or I’m doing an anti-football-italia campaign.
How can a player they signed twice on a free and sold for close to 100mil be considered “one of the club’s costliest mistakes in years”? Ridiculous argument.