Paul Pogba will miss Juventus's first leg of the UEFA Europa League's round of 16 against Freiburg on Thursday (3 p.m. ET on Paramount+) after the club announced on Thursday afternoon that he was not included the squad list. Sky Sport in Italy reported later during the day that the player was not in the list due to disciplinary reasons as he arrived late at the team's meeting on Wednesday ahead of Thursday's clash.
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri confirmed the decision before the match against Freiburg.
"I can confirm Paul Pogba was late at the pre-match team meeting yesterday. That's why he's not in the list for Europa League game — it's a matter of respect for the group. Paul will be back as part of the group starting from Friday."
The squad selected for tonight’s #JUVSCF ⚪️⚫️📜#UEL pic.twitter.com/yENnh95Fwm
— JuventusFC 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@juventusfcen) March 9, 2023
After he signed as a free agent for Juventus last summer for his second spell at the Italian club, the midfielder had some big troubles with injuries that led him to miss the first part of the season. The player, against the club's will, opted to go for a conservative therapy that didn't work out, and later in September the former Manchester United midfielder decided to undergo surgery and missed the 2022 World Cup.
When his comeback seemed to be getting closer at the beginning of the new year, on Jan. 28 coach Massimo Allegri announced in a press conference that Pogba was finally available again and included him in his squad for the Serie A clash against Monza. However, the excitement ended quite soon as he suffered a flexor problem in the warm-up that forced him out for another month. Then, later at the end of February, he was finally ready to make his official debut this season during the 4-2 win against Torino as he came in in the second half of the match.
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The French star began his youth career at Manchester United but then opted to move to Italy as a free agent to join Juve where he played four years, logging 178 matches and scoring 34 goals while also providing 40 assists. He won four consecutive Serie A titles and a pair of Coppa Italia titles in the process. He moved back to Manchester United in the summer of 2016 after the English club paid a then-record transfer fee for his services.
