Allegri unsure when Pogba will make latest return

By Sports Desk March 31, 2023

Massimiliano Allegri is unsure when Paul Pogba will return to action following his most recent injury setback.

The France international has had a torrid time of things since returning to Juve from Manchester United last July, featuring for just 34 minutes across two substitute appearances.

Pogba appeared to have put his injury issues behind him when playing in back-to-back games against Torino and Roma on February 28 and March 5, both times as a substitute.

But he was dropped for Juve's next match, a Europa League tie with Freiburg, due to turning up late for a team meeting.

The 29-year-old has not featured since, having sustained a fresh muscular problem while taking free-kicks in training.

Providing an update on Pogba's fitness ahead of Juve's return to Serie A action against Hellas Verona on Saturday, Allegri appeared to once again rule out the midfielder.

"At the moment, I don't know when he will be available again," Allegri said at Friday's pre-match press conference. "He's working, but at the moment it's difficult to say.

"The adductor is fine, but we're waiting to see how his knee will react after taking part in training."

 

Allegri's side were hit with a 15-point deduction in January, but they have won six of their past seven Serie A games to move back within seven points of the top four.

Juve have five league games in April, as well as a meeting with Sporting CP in the Europa League quarter-finals and the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final against Inter.

"Our aim is to win as many games as possible in order to have a wonderful May," Allegri said of his side's congested April programme. 

"This is the schedule and we have to manage it the best way possible. We're heading towards a beautiful but tiring end to the season and must continue playing with enthusiasm."

Related items

  • Jarrod Bowen nets late winner as West Ham win Europa Conference League Jarrod Bowen nets late winner as West Ham win Europa Conference League

    Jarrod Bowen’s last-minute winner saw West Ham end their 43-year wait for a trophy with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final.

    The Hammers won a first piece of silverware since 1980’s FA Cup, and a first European trophy since 1965, on a historic and emotional night in Prague.

    Yes, it may be only Europe’s third-tier competition, the one treated as an unwanted distraction by Tottenham, among others, in its inaugural form last season.

    But this is West Ham. The West Ham who routinely see relegation as an occupational hazard. The West Ham who made a song and dance of leaving their old stadium and an almighty hash of moving into the new one. The West Ham who had to go begging to their former manager to save them from the drop, 18 months after they got rid of him when he had done just that.

    Just nine weeks ago that same manager watched as the away fans unfurled a ‘Moyes Out’ banner during a scratchy 1-0 win over Fulham, which likely saved his job.

    Now David Moyes has written his name in West Ham folklore, joining Ron Greenwood and John Lyall as trophy-winning Hammers managers. A place in next season’s Europa League means the club has qualified for Europe three seasons in a row, for the first time.

    And what a way to sign off for Declan Rice, destined to leave this summer but with the legacy of becoming only the third captain, along with Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds, to lift silverware in the club’s 128-year history.

    The Hammers have given their fans, 5,000 of whom were – officially at least – in attendance and the 20,000-or so who just wanted to be in Prague for their first European final in 47 years, the ride of their lives.

  • Fiorentina’s Cristiano Biraghi struck by object thrown from West Ham fans Fiorentina’s Cristiano Biraghi struck by object thrown from West Ham fans

    The Europa Conference League final was stopped briefly after West Ham fans threw objects towards Fiorentina’s players.

    Plastic pint glasses were hurled from the West Ham end throughout the first half at the Eden Arena in Prague.

    Referee Carlos Del Cerro Grande eventually halted play after Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi was hit by another missile as he went to take a corner shortly before half-time.

    Biraghi had suffered a cut to the back of his head and required treatment and a bandage.

    A message over the PA system urged supporters to stop throwing objects on to the pitch and to respect the players, before play eventually resumed with the score still 0-0.

  • I am going to Miami – Lionel Messi heading for MLS after Paris St Germain exit I am going to Miami – Lionel Messi heading for MLS after Paris St Germain exit

    Lionel Messi has announced he is to join Major League Soccer side Inter Miami.

    The 35-year-old Argentina forward had been strongly linked with a move to Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal, to join a league which already features Cristiano Ronaldo and now Karim Benzema.

    However, with Messi’s two-year contract at Paris St Germain coming to an end this month, the World Cup winner confirmed in a joint interview with Spanish publications Mundo Deportivo and Sport he was set to head to the United States.

    “I made the decision that I am going to go to Miami,” Messi said.

    “I still haven’t closed it one hundred per cent. I’m missing some things, but we decided to continue on the path.”

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.