Cliff Notes – Paul Pogba set for football return after two years out

Paul Pogba is set to make his return to competitive football with AS Monaco against Rennes, having not played for 26 months due to injury and a doping ban.
The 32-year-old, who has trained normally with the squad, aims to gradually increase his playing time over the coming weeks.

Paul Pogba set for football return after two years out – sources

Paul Pogba will be included in the AS Monaco squad to face Rennes on Saturday in Brittany and the plan is for him to play a few minutes, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

Pogba, 32, has not played a single game in 26 months, since he featured for 28 minutes on Sept. 3, 2023 for Juventus against Empoli (2-0).

He had never played in Ligue 1 in his career having left Le Havre for Manchester United when he was only 16.

In August 2023, he tested positive for DHEA, a product which increase testosterone in your body, after a game against Udinese and was suspended for four years in February 2024.

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Pogba always claimed it was a mistake after being given some food supplements without knowing they contained an illicit substance.

CAS reduced his sentence to 18 months on appeal, which meant he could play again from March 2025.

The France international (91 caps, 11 goals), who dreams to go to the 2026 World Cup, trained normally with the squad on Thursday and will do so again on Friday.

If he comes out with no issue from the session, he will travel to Rennes and will play, sources confirmed. The plan is to build up his minutes on the pitch for the next few weeks until he can play the full 90 minutes in back to back games, three days apart and until he is back to as close as possible to his best.

Sebastien Pocognoli is Monaco’s new manager, has been in charge for just over a month, and at 38, is not much older than Pogba.

Pocognoli has been eager to have the 2018 World Cup winner back on the pitch to help the team, currently sixth in the table, five points behind Marseille in second place and seven adrift of leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

The former Manchester United midfielder was due to play against Angers before the international break but he suffered a small ankle injury at training and had to miss out.

Paul Pogba, who served two years of four-year doping ban, could return to action vs. Rennes. Getty

Now the wait is finally over. Pogba, wearing the No. 8, should be a footballer again at the weekend. Since he joined Monaco at the end of June on a two-year contract, the club put a full fitness rehabilitation process in place for him to get fit again and prevent injuries when he will start to play regularly. The collected hundreds of biochemicals data, postural analysis, mental assertion, athletics measures and mobility tests, cognitive tests, fitness tests, etc.

For the last five months, sources said he has worked very hard to make sure he could come back before the end of the year. At training, he has been excellent amongst a young squad in which he is already one of the leaders and which needs his guidance.

Juventus terminated his contract in November 2024 and he took his time to choose his next club. He had offers from all around the world but picked Monaco for the project, the Champions League, the role he would play within the squad and the living environment for him and his family.