France manager Didier Deschamps has warned Paul Pogba there is no way he boards the plane to Qatar for the World Cup unless he is fully fit.
Juventus midfielder Pogba, 29, is facing an uphill battle to feature at the winter tournament after undergoing surgery on a knee issue he sustained during pre-season. Massimiliano Allegri does not expect the former Manchester United man to return to action until the new year, saying: "We will realistically get him back in January."
Speaking earlier this month, the Juve boss also admitted that the World Cup is no concern of his. He added: "This morning, Pogba trained for the second time but then stopped, and it was then decided that he undergo surgery. The World Cup is not my problem, Juventus' problem is that he comes back in January."
To that end, it appears highly unlikely Pogba will travel with Les Bleus to the Middle East, as Dechamps claims taking a partially-fit player to the World Cup would be "useless". Unveiling his squad for the upcoming Nations League clashes with Austria and Denmark, the France boss said of Pogba: "He will do everything to come back quickly, without taking risks.
"But nobody today can say yes or no with certainty. The number one condition is that he has recovered from his injury. I have never taken a player to a tournament if he has not fully recovered.
"I don't have the answers today but I would never take a player - whoever that might be - if there is a chance he is not fit for the first match. He will not come if he is not ready. It would be useless coming just for the sake of it. Even he doesn't want that."
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As Deschamps alluded to, Pogba has been a key member of the France set-up for many years. He played the entire match as Les Bleus were beaten 1-0 after extra time by Portugal in the Euro 2016 final and recovered from that anguish by scoring as France defeated Croatia 4-2 in the 2018 World Cup final. He also helped France beat Spain to win the 2021 Nations League.
Pogba has always been "realistic" about his hopes of featuring for France at a third World Cup and during the 2018 tournament he said: "It might be my last World Cup... I'm realistic, we don't know if I'll be called up, maybe other players will be better than me. I hope I'll play more. I've already had the chance to play two, some can only dream to play one."
Pogba has scored 11 goals in 91 appearances for his country and will be 33 by the time the next World Cup, hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico, rolls around.
