Paul Pogba was reduced to tears as his emotional Juventus return was hit with yet another brutal injury blow.
The French midfielder has endured an awful campaign back in Turin after being reunited with his former employers. He has been reduced to just ten appearances in all competitions since returning from Manchester United due a succession of injury problems.
It looked as though he was finally ready to make an impact for the Old Lady toeards the end of the season. Pogba had made substitute appearances against Atalanta and Lecce in the last couple of Serie A fixtures over recent weeks.
He was also named in the starting line-up for Sunday’s showdown with Cremonese - his first competitive start for Juventus this season and his first of any sort since April 2022. The 32-year-old’s outing lasted only 22 minutes though.
As he lifted a cross into the Cremonese box, he appeared to pull up before slumping to the floor. Pogba then put his head in his hands as the Juventus medical staff took to the pitch to give him treatment.
His distress grew as he broke out into tears and then walked off the pitch with his shirt pulled over his face. Teammate Angel Di Maria was spotted shaking his head before the midfielder was replaced by Arkadiusz Milik.
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Speaking immediately after Juventus’ 2-0 win, boss Max Allegri offered an update on Pogba’s injury. Speaking to DAZN, he said: “We are all disappointed, especially as he was doing very well.
“It’s sad as he made so many sacrifices to recover, now has to stop again after feeling that pain in the quadricep. Paul is a grown man, he has broad shoulders and can get over this too.
“It’s only natural there are risks after barely playing for a year and when making the first start, that is going to increase the probability of getting hurt. He was doing well, we are sad, but will wait for him.”
Pogba’s wretched season means that he has not appeared in more than 30 league games in a single campaign since 2018/19 - his most prolific season at Old Trafford. Juventus have just three matches of the campaign remaining and will hope to enjoy a positive end to the campaign with or without the midfielder.
The Italian giants take on Empoli, AC Milan and Udinese in their closing three Serie A matches and are on the verge of sealing a place in the Champions League. They also take on Spanish side Seville in the Europa League semi-finals. The two sides are currently level after a 1-1 draw in the first-leg in Italy.
Following those games, a decision looks set to be made over Pogba’s future. Previous reports suggested that Juventus could consider cancelling the remainder of his contract. He originally signed a three-year contract with Juve following his Man Utd exit.
