Man Utd have enough in reserve to cope without injured Pogba – Neville

Posted Friday, September 22, 2017 by squawka.com

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville believes his former side can cope without Paul Pogba, but insists the midfielder will be a big miss.

Pogba, had to be substituted just 18 minutes into United's 3-0 Champions League group stage win over FC Basel after picking up a hamstring injury.

There is no known return date for the Frenchman as yet, but Neville believes United will manage without him however long he is out for.

"He's a big miss," Neville said, as reported by Sky Sports. "You talk about characters and personality on the pitch, Pogba always wants the ball and always believes in himself. Even if it's not going well for him he'll try the next pass.

"He has taken some stick over the last 12 months in terms of his price tag and the expectation of what people believe he should be delivering.

"He'll probably admit himself that last season he fell below his standards but he started off this season brilliantly.

"He is a loss but Marouane Fellaini has come in, and United have got Ander Herrera, Michael Carrick.

"You're going to lose players during the season, you've got to overcome it. United will have to cope with that."

Pogba had played every minute of United's season up until his injury and was beginning to build an understanding with new signing Nemanja Matic.

Pogba finally finding his feet

The midfielder joined United last summer on a then-world record fee of £89m but struggled to get settled as Jose Mourinho's team underperformed in the league.

This season, however, following the arrival of Matic, Pogba has been allowed more freedom and has flourished in midfield.

With two assists in four games, the Frenchman is already halfway to reaching his total tally from last season and his goal average is remarkably better, scoring 0.50 goals per 90 min compared to 0.17 last season.

Pogba is also creating more chances than he did last season, creating 2.25 chances per 90 min as opposed t0 1.97 – though the Frenchman was United's chief creator.