The legitimacy of the illness which caused Paul Pogba to miss Manchester United’s clash with Huddersfield yesterday evening has been called into question today.
Marching on
United travelled to the Kirklees Stadium for an FA Cup 5th-round clash, hoping for an immediate bounce-back performance following their shock 1-0 loss at the hands of Newcastle last weekend.
And Jose Mourinho’s men eventually emerged with a morale-boosting 2-0 win, courtesy of a brace from Romelu Lukaku.
Illness
However, one negative on an otherwise excellent day for the Red Devils was the absence of star midfielder Paul Pogba from the club’s squad to take on Huddersfield, after it was revealed that the Frenchman had fallen ill yesterday morning.
Speaking in an interview following his side’s victory, Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho revealed some of the finer details on Pogba’s absence:
‘He was working normally with us before the game. We prepared for the game, we gave the last touches in the tactical play, we gave the last touches on the set-plays and I told the players the team.’
‘He was in the team but this morning he was not feeling right to play. Then I have to prepare a new team. So he’s ill and now we have to wait to see what is going on.’
Questions asked
Unsurprisingly, following the confirmation that Pogba was set to miss out, there were immediate murmurs in the English media that the former Juventus man’s absence could be related to the mounting reports of unrest on his part at Old Trafford.
Others dismissed such notions, but Pogba’s return to full training with his Red Devils’ teammates this morning certainly suggests that the French international’s illness was far from a major one.
This has led to many calling into question whether there may have been a mental aspect to Pogba’s absence, with his performances over the coming weeks no doubt set to prove telling regarding his current frame of mind.
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