Paul Pogba (32) made his long-awaited return to professional football after a 26-month hiatus, during which the 2018 World Cup winner was notably hit with a doping ban and several injuries. The 2018 World Cup winner made his AS Monaco debut with a ten-minute cameo off the bench as Sébastien Pocognoli’s Les Monégasques suffered a heavy away defeat to Rennes.
Pogba says to reporters that he was still a long way off from being able to play the full 90 minutes of a football game. The former Manchester United and Juventus midfielder could feature next week as Monaco pay Pafos away in the Champions League on Wednesday before hosting Ligue 1 leaders PSG on Saturday.
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Pogba was also asked over his hopes to make Didier Deschamps’ France squad for the 2026 World Cup. Despite his experience with Les Bleus, Pogba faces an uphill battle considering he was out of the game for so long, and that Deschamps can still rely on Aurélien Tchouaméni, Eduardo Camavinga, Manu Koné or N’Golo Kanté to anchor France’s midfield.
“I’m very far from it“, Pogba said. “I’m focused on getting back in shape to help the team. If I don’t perform well at Monaco, I’ll have to forget about the French national team.“
GFFN | Bastien Cheval
