Paul Pogba’s first competitive start in more than a year came to an end on Sunday as he was forced to miss Juventus’ Serie A match against Cremonese due to yet another injury.
The 30-year-old France midfielder Pogba was replaced 23 minutes into Sunday’s game in Turin. He departed the pitch with his jersey over his face to disguise his disappointment as the home crowd applauded him warmly but anxiously
After delivering a regular cross, he pulled up in pain before collapsing to the ground and receiving on-field treatment for his left thigh.
Following his return from Manchester United last summer, Pogba has missed a significant portion of the season due to a preseason major right knee injury.
He first made the decision to forgo surgery in an effort to compete in the World Cup in Qatar.
Nevertheless, Pogba didn’t recuperate in time to play for France, who lost their title as world champions in a thrilling final against Argentina, despite later changing his mind.
He started playing again at the end of February and has since made a number of substitute appearances in an effort to fully recover.
A right thigh injury in March slowed his progress in terms of conditioning.
Pogba’s last start in a competitive game came in United’s 4-0 thrashing by Liverpool in April of last year. He left the game injured early in the first half and did not return that year.
