Pogba is missing through ‘illness’
IF Jose Mourinho had hoped that his ‘bull***t and liars’ retort to speculation over a fallout with Paul Pogba had put the issue to bed, news that Manchester United’s £89million record signing would miss this tie at Huddersfield through illness only ensured that it will rumble on into a third week.
Having been forced to answer criticism about how the Frenchman is utilised at United from former players Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs last week, Mourinho took aim at the pundits again on Friday following more unwanted insight from the likes of Paul Ince, Graeme Souness and Roy Keane.
Now he will head to Seville for Wednesday’s Champions League clash knowing that more questions about Pogba await.
The United boss will be thoroughly bored with it by then, just as he was irritated when asked before kick-off yesterday about a date for Pogba’s return to action.
‘I don’t know and honestly I don’t care, because I focus only on the game,’ he said. ‘I will think about Paul after the match.’
Having confirmed on Friday that Pogba would play against Huddersfield, Mourinho said he was only told by the club doctor Steve McNally yesterday morning that the midfielder would be absent through illness.
The explanation, inevitably gave oxygen to the theories that all is not well between manager and player.
The two men had a heated conversation on the touchline at Wembley before Pogba was replaced against Spurs last month, and it then emerged that they met for an hour in Mourinho’s office at Carrington on Tuesday. Pogba is said to have left looking less than impressed.
One of Pogba’s main gripes is understood to be that he wants to play on the left of a 4-3-3 formation, and United employed that system to good effect against Huddersfield yesterday.