From injury woes to family drama, a look at Paul Pogba's catastrophic year

Often at the forefront of the football narratives since the start of his career, Paul Pogba has had his fair share of complicated seasons. But the 2022/23 season may just be his most challenging to date.

Arriving fresh at Juventus Turin following his well-documented move from Manchester United, Pogba aimed to have a great season with his former club in Italy. His knee, however, decided otherwise.

Sidelined since the end of July 2022 following a lesion of the lateral meniscus, the Frenchman underwent surgery in early September following a request from his club –a choice he did not really want to make just a few weeks before the World Cup.

While his recovery was just beginning, Pogba found himself embroiled in a drama with his brother Matthias. Matthias had published videos promising exclusive revelations about Paul, essentially in an extortion attempt.

Pogba also had to watch the poor Juventus season unfold, without being able to offer any help. In particular, he had to witness his team's appalling group stage in the UCL which earned them a move to the Europa League.

But above all, Pogba saw the plane of the Blues in the direction of Qatar leave without him. Considered by Didier Deschamps as one of his most important executives, he too could have joined Doha to take part in the finest competition in this sport.

Instead, 'La Pioche' had to watch the French team from home, no doubt bitter, as he would certainly have started most of the Blues' matches in the competition if he had been fit.

On top of that, Pogba could only watch as the French team came close to winning the title in the final before finally losing to Argentina in a penalty shootout. A fit Pogba could certainly have been a game-changer in the competition, which notably sank in midfield for an extended part of the encounter.

After his long recovery, the Frenchman made his return to the pitch in February 2023...but only for two games before his injury flared up again.

After several months of injuries, Pogba saw the end of the tunnel last April. Entering the game for only 7 minutes against Sassuolo, the Turinese resumed slowly to avoid any relapse.

Since this match, Pogba seemed like he was finally back on track. On the bench in the next two games against Naples and Bologna, he had been playing regularly for a few minutes per game.

Though he had not yet played a match in its entirety, nor started a single meeting, the international was gradually recovering. Though he was only playing limited minutes, the time he had on the field was certainly influential, like the first leg of the Europa League semi-final against Sevilla.

Coming into play in the last minutes of the match, Pogba single-handedly changed the face of the match, demonstrating the full extent of his talent. He delivered the decisive pass leading to the Juventus equalizer in the final moments of the match.

A positive ending for the season looked likely, but was dashed as the midfielder was once again forced out after about twenty minutes in Juventus's Serie A win over Cremonese on May 15. Once again plagued by a thigh injury.

The French international had to end a disastrous season in the worst possible way. It seems he'll have to exercise some patience on the sidelines for a little while yet.

For his part, Didier Deschamps, who surely thought he could count on his star midfielder for the matches against Gibraltar and Greece in June, will also have to do without. Pogba has not played a game with the Blues since March 2022 and looks

The last big loser in this story is Juventus, who will have to walk on eggshells all summer, hoping that their midfield will get back on their feet before the start of the season. So far, the former Manchester United midfielder has cost Juventus £53,000-a-minute, having made just 10 appearances all season, according to The Daily Mail.