The Italian Championship resumes on Wednesday but Paul Pogba, absent from the 2022 World Cup after his right knee operation in September, will have to wait a little longer before he can finally play a match this season with Juventus Turin. “Patience is not knowing how to wait, but knowing how to maintain a good attitude while waiting,” philosophized the star of the Blues last week in a message on Instagram.
Always forced into tedious muscle strengthening exercises and solo races, away from his partners, Pogba thus responded to the tifosi who reproached him for having gone to the mountains during the last days of 2022. And to those who accused him of taking risks on the snow, although the “Pioche” is not seen skiing in the photos he posted online, the player responded in another video where he pretends to skiing, hilarious: “I’m a ski pro!”
This social controversy mainly reflects one thing: the immense impatience of Bianconeri supporters to see Pogba, star rookie and first salary in the locker room according to the press (8 million euros annually), finally shine on the grass. The return of Pogba, last summer, had aroused great enthusiasm among the “juventini”, delighted to see the return of a player whose first spell at the club (2012-2016) had been punctuated by four Italian champion titles in four years.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the club’s main objective is to count on an in-form Pogba for the Europa League play-offs against Nantes on February 16 and 23.
This implies a gradual return by then, to collective training first, then on the match sheets to get back into the atmosphere and finally on the field. Several media are talking about the possibility of seeing Pogba again on a pitch against Monza on January 19 in the round of 16 of the Italian Cup.
Whatever the moment, this return will be an event: it will be Pogba’s first official match since his injury with Manchester United on April 19, 2022 against Liverpool and his first with Juve since May 2016, in the Italian Cup final. – another era for the star of the Blues, who will turn 30 in March, as for the “Old lady”.
