Assessing the impact of Paul Pogba’s injury

In the tilt with FC Basel this week, Paul Pogba aggravated a hamstring injury he has been dealing with for a while now. Here’s what it means for United’s season.

Pogba is a world-class midfielder. So far this season he has been one of the keys to a revitalized United attack. But in the Champions League match on Tuesday he hurt his hamstring again and will be out for “a few matches”.

In light of his recurring hamstring issues, Pogba has been given a unique regiment to take care of himself; which Jose Mourinho says Pogba has ignored. This is not the first time that Pogba has had these issues at United as he missed three games last year with the same injury.

But here’s what it means for the season:

Pogba will obviously miss Sunday’s match against Everton. The Toffees struggled in their Europa League tilt at Atalanta so they will come to Old Trafford looking to rebound. They won on opening day 1-0 over Stoke as Wayne Rooney scored and then drew 1-1 with Manchester City in a game they could have had three points. They then lost 2-0 to Chelsea and 3-0 to Tottenham. I still think they will give United a tough contest at Old Trafford in Rooney’s return.

More from Playing for 90

• Alexia Putellas reaches 400 games with Barcelona
• Everything you need to know ahead of the 250th ‘Super Clásico’
• Barcelona put five past Real Betis
• Manchester City suffer but come away with win over West Ham
• Baffling Liga MX ruling strips Puebla of a hard-earned victory

There is no clear estimate for Pogba’s return, though he could return on October 14 against Liverpool. Against a high scoring team with a lot of speed, there is no question Ander Herrera would be the best option without Pogba because Marouane Fellaini would have circles run around him by Roberto Firmino and company.

Later in the month United faces a Southampton squad that usually plays them tough, I think this will be a particularly tough game without Pogba. The Saints have been a hard team to break down and then they can steal games with late goals. At the end of the month they face a Crystal Palace squad who is on their third manager since May. United has no excuse not to get three points against regardless of who’s on the field.

However the most important game is a midweek Champions League match in Russia against CSKA Moscow. This is another game United should win, but could be tricky with a trip that long.

This means that Herrera will see more starts alongside Nemanja Matic. Also more minutes for Fellaini and potentially Michael Carrick. Fellaini will be first off the bench as he offers more offensively than Herrera or Carrick does. Carrick will be a regular in lesser competitions like the FA and League Cup. But putting him in as a sub during the three games in eight days stretch from the 23rd-30th.

I don’t see this injury affecting the Champions League campaign as long as there aren’t any long-term effects. However, in a Premier League race that figures to be very tight, dropped points over the next few games could be huge down the road.

Next: Jose Mourinho furious with Manchester United star

I have said that Pogba is the most important player in United’s squad, and I fully believe that. However, this is concerning to see. I would hate to see a player’s ego ruin him long-term. It potentially prevent Pogba from becoming a United legend. He has the ability, but needs to take care of himself along the way.