- Paul Pogba is battling to be fit for Manchester United’s clash with Liverpool
- United’s record £89m signing faces a late fitness test for the lunchtime kick-off
- It is understood that Pogba was injured in the final training session at Carrington
Paul Pogba is battling to be fit for Manchester United’s clash with arch rivals Liverpool after he was injured in training on Friday.
United’s record £89million signing faces a late fitness test for the lunchtime kick-off at Old Trafford and is rated as 50-50 to play.
It is understood that Pogba was injured in the final training session at Carrington and did not finish it, although he has not been ruled out of the crunch fixture yet. United will surrender second place in the Premier League to Liverpool if they lose to Jurgen Klopp’s team.
Paul Pogba is battling to be fit for Manchester Utd v Liverpool after he was injured in training
However, Pogba was missing when United’s players reported to the Lowry Hotel on Friday evening ahead of the big game.
The 24-year-old Frenchman has only just re-established himself in the United line-up after the most turbulent period of his Old Trafford career.
He was dropped for the games against Huddersfield and Sevilla, and substituted against Tottenham and Newcastle. Pogba also missed the FA Cup win over Huddersfield last month with a mystery illness after phoning in sick on the day of the game.
He has since started both games against Chelsea and Crystal Palace, cooling talk of an issue between him and manager Jose Mourinho, but he still came in for fierce criticism during the Palace game from former United player Gary Neville on Sky Sports.
United’s record £89m signing faces a late fitness test for the lunchtime kick-off at Old Trafford
‘His great weakness is that he plays like he’s playing in the park with his mates,’ said Neville. ‘It’s like everything he does is like a YouTube or Instagram video.
‘It’s like it’s not serious. It’s like a joke to him in terms of the way he goes about things. It’s no wonder Jose Mourinho has left him out for the past few weeks a number of times.’
Marouane Fellaini is fit again after minor knee surgery and along the candidates to play if Pogba is ruled out, although Mourinho may well turn to Michael Carrick.
Eric Bailly is also in contention to make his first start since early November after two brief substitute appearances following ankle surgery, but Anthony Martial is out with a thigh problem. He joins Ander Herrera, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind on the sidelines.
