Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri says it is nice that Paul Pogba is ‘available’ after a disappointing season plagued by injury…
- Paul Pogba has had a disastrous season plagued by several injury problems
- The midfielder has returned to the field for Juventus to rebuild his fitness
- Massimiliano Allegri insisted he needs playing time to get back to his best
Paul Pogba must continue to build up his playing time to ensure he returns to his best, Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri stressed.
The 30-year-old France international returned to Turin last summer on a free transfer from Manchester United, six years after leaving the club.
Pogba tore the meniscus in his knee during a pre-season tour of America and eventually had to agree to surgery to repair the injury after alternative therapies failed to help.
However, the surgery saw him sidelined for an extended period, with Pogba having made just a handful of appearances for the club under manager Allegri this season.
Pogba missed out on the World Cup, while his continued absence during a tumultuous early to mid-season period for his club side has begun to spark considerable anger from Bianconeri supporters.
Paul Pogba needs more playing time to get back to his best, emphasizes his Juventus manager
Massimiliano Allegri welcomed his midfielder’s return and said the most important thing now was that he remained available
Ahead of his side’s trip to Cremonese, Allegri praised the Frenchman’s return but urged him to get back to his best.
“He’s improving, he played well for 25 minutes,” Allegri said. “He needs to play more games to get back into shape, he can be decisive in the last third and we’ve talked about it a lot.
“The most important thing now is that he is available. With games every three days, it’s hard to recover and play a full game.’
Meanwhile, Juventus needed a last-minute equalizer to draw level with Sevilla in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final.
Youssef En-Nesyri had put Sevilla ahead in just 26 minutes and the Spanish side looked set to hold on to an impressive first-leg victory, before Federico Gatti showed up in the seventh minute of stoppage time to equalize for Juventus.
Juventus have been on an upswing in recent weeks, with the return of Pogba being one of the many positive things the club has witnessed in recent weeks.
The – albeit perhaps brief – overturn of their 15-point penalty saw them move back into the top four, where they remain, trailing only already-crowned Napoli.
“We are in a great mood, especially after the goal against Sevilla,” Allegri said.
Juventus were boosted by a late equalizer courtesy of Federico Gatti against Sevilla in the week
“We have to stay in the top four of Serie A and defend second place. We have fulfilled our duties on the field, what happens outside should not concern us.’
With his future very up in the air after a scandal-packed season, Allegri insisted his focus was on the task at hand: securing a top-four finish for his side and success in the Europa League.
“For now, we need to make it to June 4 in the best conditions, try to reach the Europa League final and stay in the top four of Serie A,” Allegri added.
“Other decisions are up to the club, the future, the sporting director and the players.”