Man Utd star set for surgery as Solskjaer confirms major double injury blow

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed Paul Pogba is set to undergo surgery on an ankle injury and is facing a month on the sidelines.

Pogba has endured a difficult campaign having missed around three months with an ankle problem that he suffered back in September and it looked as though he was ready to put his injury woes behind him after making substitute appearances against Watford and Newcastle last month.

However, the French international sat out Man Utd’s win over Burnley last weekend and missed last night’s 2-0 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium after aggravating his ankle problem.

Speaking after the game, Solskjaer confirmed that Pogba has been advised by a consultant to have an operation to finally resolve the issue and the United boss expects the midfielder to miss around a month.

The news will come as a major blow as Man Utd are already without Scott McTominay after he suffered a knee ligament injury during the 4-1 win against Newcastle United on Boxing Day.

No official time-frame had been put on McTominay’s recovery but Solskjaer has now revealed the Scottish international is expected to miss ‘a few months’ so United will be without two key midfielders for the foreseeable future.

Solskjaer told ManUtd.com:

“Yeah, I do [expect him to be at United at the end of the window]. He’s injured now and he’ll probably need an operation on his foot. And let’s see how long it takes for him to get back. We’ve had scans and while it’s nothing major, it’s something that has to be sorted and dealt with, within a time frame.

He’s been advised to do it as soon as possible. We’ve had a consultant looking at him and the club has done the scans. It’s a big blow that Paul is out now – he’ll probably be out for three or four weeks – and Scott will be out for a few months.

Scott has been magnificent and we hoped Paul could come back [while Scott was out]. He can’t – he’ll be back within a month or so. We look after our players’ health and we won’t take any risk with any players that don’t feel they’re able to play on.”

Being without Pogba and McTominay for the coming months will severely dent Man Utd’s hopes of finishing in the top four this season and it may force Solskjaer to dip into the transfer market for midfield reinforcements this month.