Man Utd boss Solskjaer backs Fred and Pereira to fill in for injured Pogba
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has called on Andreas Pereira and Fred to “step up” for Manchester United in Paul Pogba‘s absence.
Pogba has been ruled out for a further month because of an ankle problem, leaving United light in midfield when it comes to creativity and attacking drive.
How long will Pogba be out for? Five things to know…
- Pogba first suffered an ankle injury in September, missing league games against Leicester City and West Ham.
- He returned and played 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Old Trafford.
- But a recurrence of the injury saw him miss Premier League meetings with Newcastle, Liverpool and Norwich.
- And Solskjaer has now revealed Pogba will miss a further month, likely ruling him out until December.
- Solskjaer has backed Andreas Pereira and Fred to fill in while the Frenchman recovers.
Pereira has been a regular under Solskjaer this season, while Fred has recently begun to work his way back into contention after initially struggling to settle in England.
And while both players may lack the required quality to provide the traits United will lack during Pogba’s lay-off, Solskjaer is ready to put his trust in them ahead of a busy November schedule.
“Fred and Andreas – they are going to be important for us,” Solskjaer told reporters.
“Fred will probably take Paul’s position for a while now.
“That’s been brilliant for us, but Andreas has grown in the last few games.
“There’s no use talking about who’s not going to be here for a long, long time because he’s not going to come on the pitch and help us until he’s fit.
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“Paul’s been brilliant and he is a creative midfielder that we need, but then it is up to the others to step up.”
United face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night before travelling to Bournemouth in the Premier League this weekend.
