What’s happening with Paul Pogba? Monaco debut delay explained & World Cup chances assessed | OneFootball

It’s been over two years since Paul Pogba last stepped onto the pitch in a competitive fixture.

What are the chances we’ll ever see the former Manchester United and Juventus midfielder back at his best?

Still Manchester United’s record signing, the World Cup winner has suffered a nightmare few years after leaving Old Trafford for a second time in 2022.

Pogba’s return to Juventus was blighted with injuries, and his career looked to be over when he was handed a four-year doping suspension after testing positive for DHEA at the start of the 2023-24 season.

He subsequently declared that “the nightmare is finally over” after the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced the ban to 18 months last October, allowing him to return to action earlier this year.

Juventus terminated Pogba’s contract a short while later, and he spent the remainder of last season unattached. In June he joined Monaco and broke down in tears after signing a two-year contract with the Ligue 1 outfit.

But we’re approaching the midway point of the 2025-26 campaign and Pogba is still yet to make his debut for Les Monegasques.

What’s going on? Will we ever see #Pogback? We’ve taken a closer look at the situation.

Why hasn’t Pogba made his Monaco debut yet?

Pogba’s long-awaited return to the pitch has long been teased by Monaco, but the story so far has been one of setbacks.

After two years out of the game, it’s perhaps unsurprisingly that the 32-year-old has struggled with knocks and niggles as he aims to get match fit.

The original plan was for Pogba to make his return to action in October.

“We maybe expected him to be in the squad against Nice (on October 5th), but we may need to wait until Angers (on October 18th),” Monaco boss Adi Hutter said.

“We hope that, after the international break, he can play.”

Hutter has since left his post as Monaco boss after a stuttering start to the 2025-26 campaign, with Sebastien Pocognoli replacing him in the dugout.

Monaco look in desperate need of a lift, but the wait for Pogba’s debut goes on.

There was hope that he’d finally make the Monaco bench for Monaco’s clash with Paris FC on November 1st, but he suffered a fresh ankle injury in training the day before.

“He has a grade-two sprain. That’s all I can say for now. We will run another evaluation next week. It’s a medium-intensity sprain,” Pocognoli told reporters.

When will Pogba finally return to the pitch?

Pogba’s ankle injury left him sidelined for Monaco’s latest chastening defeat, 4-1 at home to Lens before the international break.

But the latest update from Monaco is that his latest injury won’t keep him out of action for much longer and he could finally be fit to make his debut following this international break.

“A return after the break? That’s what we’ve planned,” Pocognoli tentatively told reporters.

Now we’ll have to see how he reacts to training, but yes, we’re on track.”

Monaco play Rennes on Saturday November 22nd and it sounds as though there’s a possibility Pogba could make the bench.

They host perennial champions PSG at the end of the month, while Real Madrid and Juventus await in the Champions League in January. He’ll surely be desperate to make it back in time for those marquee fixtures.

What are Pogba’s chances for the 2026 World Cup?

A potential Les Bleus return has inevitably been a major talking point in the French media.

The former Juventus and Manchester United was among the leading lights of France’s 2018 World Cup in Russia, but injury cost him his place in their bid to retain the trophy out in Qatar.

With his subsequent issues, it’s now been over three years since Pogba last played for France.

But media figures are still hopeful that he can make a spectacular return to the international stage.

“Pogba has been more than thirty-two,” French football pundit Pascal Dupraz told RMC back in August after Pogba’s signing was announced.

“Let me explain: it’s been two years since he last played, so he was not tired on the grounds. Let time have time.

“I’m waiting for Pogba at his best level in Monaco. I believe in it and I am sure he will be part of the selection of (Didier) Deschamps for the World Cup.”

Les Bleus boss Didier Deschamps has long been an admirer of Pogba, calling upon him whenever he’s been fit and available, and has refused to rule out the possibility of recalling Pogba to the squad for next summer’s tournament.

“That will depend on him. I have no doubt that he wants it and that it’s a goal in his mind,” Deschamps told reporters ahead of the last international break in October.

“He has steps to take, and the next one, after these long weeks of separate training, will be when he puts on the Monaco shirt and steps onto the pitch.

“I hope it happens as soon as possible and that everything goes well for him. Then we’ll see.

“He wants it, and if I say yes, Pogba’s return is possible, but if I say no, I’ll look like a fool, and that’s not going to work either.

“All I wish for him is to get through this first step in more than two and a half years. That alone will be a huge joy and happiness for him.”