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LONDON. – Jose Mourinho faces an anxious wait to discover whether Paul Pogba can take part in Manchester United’s midweek Champions League soccer last 16 trip to Sevilla after he missed their FA Cup victory over Huddersfield Town.
An unspecified illness saw Pogba withdraw on the morning of Saturday’s match in Huddersfield, which United won 2-0 thanks to two goals from Romelu Lukaku as they advanced into the quarter-finals.
United manager Mourinho, whose relationship with club-record signing Pogba has been under close scrutiny in recent weeks, insisted he did not even know what the illness was or how long the France midfielder may be unable to play, having planned to play him in a 4-3-3 system that the player considers his favourite.
“I don’t know,” said Mourinho when asked about the nature of Pogba’s illness after Saturday’s match.
“When I was told by the doctor this morning that he was not coming, I don’t want to know anything else about it – I have to think who is going to replace him, what I am going to do because we worked hard during the week.”
The Portuguese boss added: “Now is the time to think about Paul, to know what happened, why he didn’t feel good enough to play, can he play or be available to help us on Wednesday?”
Pogba has reportedly been unhappy in recent weeks at the style Mourinho has adopted, generally playing him alongside Nemanja Matic in a two-man midfield.
But ahead of Saturday’s match, Mourinho appeared prepared to meet the wishes of Pogba, who rejoined United from Juventus for £89.3 million in August 2016, by playing him on the left side of a three-man midfield set-up.
United still won comfortably, thanks to Lukaku’s double, although victory could have been even more emphatic but for video assistant referee (VAR) Neil Swarbrick ruling out a Juan Mata goal late in the first half in an incredibly close off-side call. – AFP
Online Reporter