Jose Mourinho: Injury not to blame for Paul Pogba's poor form

Posted Saturday, March 31, 2018 by ESPN

MANCHESTER -- Jose Mourinho has admitted he is at a loss to explain Paul Pogba's poor form.

The Frenchman has only started four of United's last 11 games and was used as a substitute for both legs of the Champions League last-16 tie with Sevilla.

It is in stark contrast to Pogba's form at the start of the season when he scored twice in his first five games before he was sidelined by a hamstring injury in September.

Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Mourinho dismissed a suggestion the 25-year-old is still being hampered by his injury. And pressed as to what is behind the midfielder's dip, the United manager challenged Pogba to explain.

"Ask him," said Mourinho. "Ask him when you get a chance when he thinks about it.

"It's nothing to do with his injury. His recovery was good."

Jose Mourinho: Injury not to blame for Paul Pogba's poor form

Pogba missed 12 games after suffering a hamstring injury during a 3-0 win over Basel at Old Trafford.

He has scored just once since, although he has registered nine assists in the Premier League -- behind only Manchester City pair Kevin De Bruyne and Leroy Sane.

"I think he is very fine after the injury," added Mourinho.

"It was a difficult injury, it was an injury that other players, other clubs, other medical assessments -- they end in surgery, his option with the medical opinions was not to go to the surgery table and his recovery was really really good and I think he is more than fine in relation to his recovery from the injury which is an area sometimes where you have a recurrence. In his case, not at all."

United are expected to sign at least one central midfielder in the summer to supplement Pogba and Nemanja Matic.

Mourinho is also likely to target another defender, although he remains adamant he does not want another striker despite Zlatan Ibrahimovic's departure to LA Galaxy last week.

"We have [Romelu] Lukaku and Marcus [Rashford] as No. 9s," he said.

"Of course, Marcus can play right and left but Marcus is a striker so Lukaku and Rashford.

"Alexis [Sanchez] can play as a striker, [Anthony] Martial can play as a striker so without having a replica of Lukaku we have three more players who can play as a nine if we don't have Lukaku.

"We are not going to go for another No. 9."