JUVENTUS midfielder Paul Pogba will miss out on watching France in the World Cup final as he has been ordered to remain in Italy.
The midfielder has been told he will not be allowed to travel to Qatar to watch his national side as they look to become only the third team in history to retain the World Cup when they take on Argentina this Sunday.
Pogba, 29, was an integral part of France’s 2018 winning side, featuring in all but one of their games and even scoring in their 4-2 win over Croatia in the final.
Yet a torn meniscus suffered during pre-season in July brought his hopes of featuring in Qatar to a swift end.
Despite his absence, the former Manchester United player has been vocal in his support for his national team on social media, posting good luck messages for his teammates.
After experiencing many injuries to key players in the build up to the competition such as Pogba, N’Golo Kante and Karim Benzema, the French President Emmanuel Macron was keen to bring them to Qatar for the final to cheer on Les Bleus.
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Juventus are reluctant to let Pogba travel while he’s recovering as they hope for him to return to action before the end of the season.
A player in a similar position is Lucas Hernandez, who tore his ACL during France’s first game against Australia.
Even though the defender wishes to return to Qatar to support the side, his club Bayern Munich has vetoed this and will be keeping him in Germany.
However Benzema has been granted permission from Real Madrid to return to Qatar to support France.
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The 2022 Ballon D’or winner was included in Didier Deschamps 26-man squad list yet was forced to head back home after suffering an injury to his left thigh whilst out in Doha.
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Benzema, 34, has since returned to action with Real Madrid featuring in their friendly with Leganes on Tuesday.
With this return to action, rumours have been circulating that Benzema could make a triumphant return off the bench against Argentina, yet Deschamps was quick to shut these down.
The French manager said when asked about the return of Benzema: “I don’t really want to answer that question. Next question. I do apologise.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
