Just over three years after his last competitive appearance, the comeback story of French international Paul pogba at AS Monaco is facing serious doubts. Plagued by a series of setbacks following a four-year doping ban and subsequent injury woes, the 2018 World Cup winner has managed just 30 minutes of Ligue 1 action as joining the club last summer . Now, a fresh injury has ruled the 32-year-old midfielder out of crucial Champions League and domestic league matches, raising questions about his future with the club and any potential return to the French national team.
Paul Pogba’s highly anticipated return to the pitch has hit yet another roadblock. After a three-year absence plagued by injuries, a doping suspension, and a complex off-field situation, the 2018 World Cup winner signed with AS Monaco (ASM), initially hoping to make his debut against his former club, Le Havre, when the French league season began in mid-August.
“It would be a great story,” Pogba said to the press at the time, envisioning a triumphant return. Those hopes were quickly dashed by AS Monaco General Director Thiago Scuro, who stated, “I can guarantee he won’t be able to be on the field,” suggesting Pogba was likely joking about his availability.
Six months later, the 32-year-old midfielder’s outlook has drastically changed. Pogba continues to battle persistent physical setbacks, keeping him sidelined and preventing a consistent return to team training. Ruled out of Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Real Madrid, where his team suffered a heavy 6-1 defeat, the French international will also miss Saturday’s league match against Le Havre, as Monaco continues its 19th league game of the season.
Scuro remains candid about the situation, openly acknowledging what increasingly appears to be a failed plan. “The plan put in place since Paul’s arrival is not working as expected,” he admitted on January 14. The numbers tell the story: the former Juventus player has yet to appear in a Champions League match this season and has played just… thirty minutes total in Ligue 1, between late November and early December 2025. A far cry from the expectations surrounding his arrival at Monaco.
Pogba’s last appearance on the field came on December 5. He played twenty-one minutes in a match at Stade Francis-Le Blé against Brest (0-1 defeat). Shortly after, he suffered a calf injury and has not recovered. It’s as if his body is failing him, a consequence of his extended time away from the game. Before those brief appearances with the Monaco club, his last match was September 3, 2023, while playing for Juventus against Empoli in Serie A.
National Team Return Now Unlikely
Pogba isn’t just struggling physically; he’s also emotionally affected. “He is very affected by the difficulty of being available and increasing his playing time,” the ASM General Director explained. Adding to the pressure, Monaco is currently facing a sporting crisis, with the team enduring a string of defeats. The midfielder’s earlier enthusiastic statements about his ability to bounce back now seem distant.
Thiago Scuro assures that the team and Pogba “are working hard to find solutions.” However, his expectations are tempered: “Either it works and he will soon be on the field to have an impact, or it doesn’t.” In the former case, “the parties can sit down this summer to discuss the future,” the director added, while Pogba’s contract officially runs until June 2027.
This situation has another consequence: the likelihood of Pogba representing the national team at the upcoming World Cup (June 11 to July 19, in the United States, Canada, and Mexico) is diminishing. The player, with 91 caps and 11 goals for Les Bleus, had expressed his desire to compete when he arrived at Monaco. However, he knew that his relationship with head coach Didier Deschamps wouldn’t be enough. Deschamps, a demanding coach, wouldn’t call him up based on reputation alone.
“If I’m not in shape, if I play badly and don’t perform well at Monaco, the national team, you have to forget about it,” Pogba admitted on November 22, 2025, upon his return to competition. “He has the ability to return to his best level,” Deschamps said at a press conference in March 2025. He then added, “It won’t happen overnight.” It’s clear he was right.
