Paul Pogba is injured once again and it could spell the end of his Monaco career.
The 2018 World Cup winner has played 45 minutes during pre-season, not far off the 115 he managed during the 2025/26 campaign.
However, his pre-season is already over following a 3-2 friendly win against Liverpool.
Training at St. George’s Park in Birmingham, Pogba went down injured and reported on the scene claim he ‘let out a cry’ clutching his left thigh.
Pogba then had to be bandaged up and helped off the playing surface before being comforted by new coach Filipe Luis.
The suspected hamstring injury couldn’t have come at a much worse time for Pogba.
Pogba’s injury could end his Monaco career
Suspended for doping while at Juventus, Pogba was out for two years with a serious injury to his right knee.
Yet his hamstring seemingly giving up just as the knee turned a corner shows how fragile the situation is.
Both Monaco’s coach and sporting director said this pre-season would be crucial for assessing Pogba’s fitness, which now looks in doubt again.
Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro said: “I believe that now we need to be fair with him: look at his preparation each week, see how he has progressed physically and technically.
“And then it will be the coach’s decision, whether Filipe Luis will give him playing time or not.
“We have the summer to see what Paul’s level will be. Is he likely to leave? Yes, of course.
“With Paul, the relationship has always been open and transparent. If, at any point, the player’s and the club’s objectives differ, a solution must be found.
“Performance will provide all the answers we need. Maybe he will leave, maybe he will stay.”
He added: “It’s a very complicated issue. First and foremost, we have a lot of respect for him as a person.
“When he arrived here, he was very positive; he helped the younger players.
“But the truth is also that the project (with him) didn’t work well last season. When we started it, our expectations were very different.”
New coach Filipe Luis retains hope for Pogba
Giving his take, new coach Felipe Luis struck a more positive tone.
He added: “I spoke with him, for sure. I spoke with almost all the players and in the coming days we will speak with everyone individually.
“But he is a special player, he has an incredible career, a world champion. He is a great idol in France.
“Now he starts pre-season from the beginning, but when you get to the team, nobody is more important than the team.
“Paul Pogba can help. He has a lot of quality and we hope he can return to the level everyone knows. He will be a great help to us, but we want to help him get back to that level.”
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