Pogba a doubt for World Cup after operation on right knee
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PARIS - France midfielder Paul Pogba's hopes of appearing at the World Cup are hanging in the balance after undergoing knee surgery on Monday night.
"This evening, Paul Pogba underwent selective external arthroscopic meniscectomy," his Italian club Juventus said in a statement.
"The surgery, performed by Prof Roberto Rossi in the presence of the Juventus team doctor, Luca Stefanini, was a complete success."
The 29-year-old injured the meniscus in his right knee in July and initially opted against surgery in a bid to be fit for the World Cup which kicks off on Nov 20.
However, after returning to training on Sunday, he changed his mind about an operation which according to multiple reports, could keep him out of action for as long as two months.
Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri had already plunged into doubt his availability at the Qatar tournament earlier on Monday, when he revealed that Pogba would go under the knife.
Allegri said that Pogba, who rejoined Juve from Manchester United in the summer, would probably not play for Juve until January.
Pogba was a star performer in 2018 when France were crowned world champions, scoring in the final in Moscow where they beat Croatia 4-2 to lift the trophy after a gap of 20 years.
He has scored 11 goals in 91 appearances for France.
Separately, Kylian Mbappe on Monday played down suggestions that his relationship with Pogba could be impacted after his name came up in a blackmail affair engulfing his France teammate.
Pogba said he is the victim of a multi-million euro blackmail plot to discredit him by claiming he asked a witch doctor to cast a spell on Mbappe.
The claims about the witch doctor were revealed publicly by Pogba's elder brother Mathias, which he has denied.
"No because today, as things stand, I prefer to believe what my teammate says," Mbappe said when asked if there might be a problem with Pogba.
"He called me and gave me his version of events. It is his word against his brother's word. I am going to trust my teammate.
"We'll see what happens, but I am quite detached from all that."
A criminal investigation was launched in France last week into the affair.
AFP, REUTERS
