Monday, October 31, 2022 at 3:03 PM• Jonathan van Haaster • Last update: 15:04

Paul Pogba seems to have to miss the World Cup in Qatar. The Frenchman was recovering from a knee injury, but suffered a thigh injury during training at his club Juventus. Pogba has not played this season after suffering a meniscus injury in July. He has almost recovered from that, but his new injury, which has a recovery time of about ten days, seems to have definitely put a line through his World Cup ambitions.

National coach Didier Deschamps will announce his final selection on November 9. The choice lord gave in an interview with gross already known to bring only fully fit players to Qatar. As a result, the relatively short recovery time of ten days, in combination with his not yet made return to Juventus, seems to have killed Pogba. “I have never entered a major league with an injured player. Then there will be people who will cite Benjamin Mendy and Djibril Sidibé as examples, but they had recovered in time for the 2018 World Cup.” Both Mendy and Sidibé were struggling with knee injuries at the time.

“First, the player must have recovered,” Deschamps continues. “That’s a condition. Without it, the question doesn’t even have to be asked. The second is the athletic state (of the player, ed.). But that second condition can only exist if the first is guaranteed. Everything depends on how long they were out and the number of games they played between their injury and until they report to us. A third aspect is the competition in their positions.”

The global final tournament comes too early for the Chelsea duo N’Golo Kanté and Wesley Fofana. They are dealing with injuries to the hamstring and knee respectively. Whether Raphaël Varane will be selected remains to be seen. The Manchester United defender suffered a hamstring injury on October 22 in the game against Chelsea (1-1) and research has shown that he will have to watch for three to four weeks. Varane was a basic player during the 2018 World Cup in Russia and is normally one of the mainstays of the French. The title holder will start the tournament next month on November 22, when Australia is the opponent.