Ralf Rangnick has revealed that he had a phone call with Paul Pogba and confirmed that the midfielder will not be available for a couple of weeks.
“We spoke over the phone on Tuesday,” Rangnick told reporters, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News. “He was still in Dubai, he is expected to come back today and then we get to know each other in person on Sunday.
“We have had a telephone call. He told me he is getting better but, obviously, he is still not fully fit. From what I have heard so far, it will take another couple of weeks until he can train again. And then he has been out for quite some time, so then it will take another couple of weeks to get him match-fit.
“But in the first instance now, it is important he gets fully fit in order to be able [to] train with the rest of the group and then we have to develop him physically and technically to also be fit to play in the Premier League.”
We haven’t seen the Frenchman in action since early November after he sustained a thigh injury during a training session on international duty, therefore, he has spent the last month rehabilitating at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex in Dubai.
Pogba’s last Premier League appearance was the 5-0 defeat against Liverpool on October 24.
He is due to return to Manchester today and is scheduled to meet Rangnick in person for the first time on Sunday. The German coach already has enough on his plate tomorrow with a long trip to Norwich City on the agenda.
It will be intriguing to see what happens with Pogba’s contract because I am sure he will want to assess how things go under Rangnick. The clock is ticking and part of me feels that he would’ve committed his future to the club by now if he really wanted to.
