Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to the Italian football podcast. OK, we have to speak about Paul Pogba here because he has suffered another injury in training just as he was coming back from his previous injury surgery. He suffered a thigh injury that is expected to keep him out for at least 10 days. That means that he's probably almost certainly not going to play
Speaker: for Juventus until the World Cup. We'll have to wait and see just how serious it is and whether he can go to the World Cup. I think that it's very, very much at risk that he will go to the World Cup because
Speaker: the World Cup squads are announced on November the 13th. If you're Didier Deschamps, do you take Paul Pogba to the World Cup when he's not played this season? He's not actually played competitively because of that injury that he got at the end of last season with Man United since April the 19th. So you're looking at seven months without playing competitive football. The only football
Speaker: match of any kind that he's played was 45 minutes in a friendly for Juventus in the summer against Guadalajara, played 45 minutes in their first friendly, then he got injured the next day in training. And then of course, you know, that was his knee, wasn't it? He tore the meniscus in his knee during the preseason training in the US. And they tried, ridiculously tried this conservative therapy, didn't they? That to try and see if that he could play carry on playing that
Speaker: Inevitably as everybody knew we didn't work eventually had to go under the knife had surgery and he was just on his way back and he was aiming to play. This weekend actually the aim was either the inter game or or next week so that you would get some minutes before deschamps names his his world cup squad.
Speaker: And now he's had yet another setback. And this injury crisis for Pogba, it's a huge, huge worry. As we were discussing with Pogba, he's 29 Pogba, just like Lukaku is, 30 during this season, just like Lukaku. And you look at his recent injury record, and you do have to ask the question, are we seeing witnessing the end of
Speaker: Pogba's top level career. Is his top level career over? I'm not saying it is, he's obviously an incredibly gifted player.
Speaker: The number of injuries that Pogba has had over the last three years in particular, this is the 10th, 10th different injury that Pogba has had in three years. He's now, as we're speaking right now, he's missed 101 games during that time. 101 matches, that's just for club, that's just for his club by the way, that's not even including an international team. Over 100 games he's missed through injury in the last three years.
Speaker: Um, I mean, what do you think never, I mean, is this, have we seen the end of Pogba as a, as a top player?
Speaker: I think his physical status the last two, three years would suggest that, wouldn't it? I don't think his ability, that there's been a decline in his ability, I think given the kind of player he is, I think he's got the style that he could probably go, he could play for well into his 30s if he wasn't so injured.
Speaker: But having said that, I do think that given the injuries, which we can't discard as, you know, what they are, I think maybe, yes, I think it's his body can't take it anymore. I'm glad we've proven wrong because I think when he's fit and in the right midfield, used in the right way, I think he's one of his fantastic player. I really do.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah, it's a big, big shame. It's a big, big shame, but it's also the reason why, you know, and I hate to do another, I told you so, but this is why. No, you don't, you love it. Well, this is why I said during the summer, when you're meant to sign them on a free transfer, you know, don't, why are all the Juventus fans, we're not all, there's quite a lot that were against it, but why are so many people jumping up and down and getting excited about signing a player that's missed over, I think it was around about 75 games,
Speaker: Through injury in two and a half years at the time. I mean, you know that It's just it's just basic logic, you know You don't miss that number of games and that number of injury have that number of injuries repetitively unless there's something Clearly wrong and and it's not right and you know, Juventus got him on a free transfer They also paid him big big wages
Speaker: And he was signed to be the player that took them to the next level in midfield. And by signing him instead of somebody else, they now have to make do without that midfielder that they needed. So obviously, I hope that he comes back in 2023 and he becomes the player that Juventus need and he gets back to his best and he's fit and everything.
Speaker: You know, three years of just constant injury after injury, there's obviously something not right with his body and he's breaking down and maybe it is his age. You know, he's not that old, but he started quite young. You know, he was already a superstar.
Speaker: by the age of 21, wasn't he? And so, you know, it's it is very, very concerning. But just as concern is, I think Pogg was at the wrong club. He wants to sort out his injury situation because you've entered his injury crisis right now. It's becoming it's becoming an absolute joke. I mean, you just go on there, just go on social media, go on to Facebook or to Twitter and just see all the memes and the jokes that are going round. I mean, I don't know how, by the way, the event is
Speaker: Juventus medical team and there hasn't been a massive purge of them with a number of injuries because that is the common denominator throughout all of this. Juventus go into this PSG game in midweek without 14 first team players.
Speaker: 14. I mean, can you actually believe that 14? It's insane. And no, it's bizarre. The repeated muscular injuries, the muscular injuries as well as the big one, there's been so many muscular injuries, which has to be put down to the medical team when you get in that many muscular injuries, in my opinion.
Speaker: You know, there's some injuries that can just be unlucky, you know, contact injuries. You can't do anything about contact injuries. You know, even sometimes if you twist your ankle or twist your knee, sometimes you can't do anything about those. Those injuries can just happen. Obviously some players are more physically prone, injury prone, you know, but to get repeated muscular injuries and also when you look at the lack of conditioning,
Speaker: that Juventus team has had and how they're completely incapable of maintaining any kind of intensity for more than 20 or 30 minutes in a game and how many times they've completely fallen away in matches physically in the second half. I think it all
Speaker: comes down to the same thing and that is the Juventus' medical team is completely failing. You don't have 14 first team players out and then the next most amount of injuries in Serie A is six with Roma, six. So they're absolutely way out in front with the number of injuries. Listen to the full show and all other episodes by going to patreon .com slash EIFP and become a member for only $2 .99 per month.
