Paul Pogba has suffered another setback as his comeback is on hold after the Manchester United star fell ill – despite being given permission to attend his brother’s wedding in France on Friday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hoped to have Pogba available in time to play over the Christmas period after two-and-a-half months out with an ankle injury, but that is now in doubt following the latest setback.



Solskjaer revealed the news after confirming that Pogba will not play in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Colchester United at Old Trafford

‘Of all things he’s been struck down ill now,’ said the United boss.

‘He’s been off for two or three days – three days probably – so that’s not beneficial. That’s probably set him back quite a bit.

‘As I’ve said so many times, Paul’s a top player that we want to see him playing his best football at Man United. We just need to get him fit and match fit.

‘It might be half an hour, 45, 60, 90 minutes in the first game, who knows? We’re working hard to get him back but now he’s ill.’

‘We can talk about Paul all day long when you’re lacking that one creative pass or ideas maybe,’ added Solskjaer.

‘He has that quality that not many midfielders in the world have, so to get him back would be great.’

The Norwegian will rotate his squad to face League Two underdogs Colchester with Mason Greenwood set to start after scoring three goals in his last two games against Alkmaar and Everton.

‘He’s making it hard for me to leave him out,’ said Solskjaer. ‘I remember when I came to the club as well and I kept scoring a few goals but still I felt I could perform better.

‘I wasn’t involved in the game but the manager’s comments were that it was hard to keep players who score out of the team. It’s very very difficult now to put a team out there without having Mason in my mind, yes.

‘We’re going to make changes again because there are so many games. I hope the team I’m going to put out is going to be a strong enough one to win a game. At home against a League Two side, you’re big favorites and we’ve got to accept that, but we have to go out there and earn it.’

Solskjaer believes that lifting the Carabao Cup will only help to give his players self-belief as he continues his rebuilding program at United.

‘Any player or any team – and for us now it’s a good team that’s building – would benefit a lot from winning a trophy or getting to a final,’ he added. ‘Now we’ve got a chance of getting into the semi, so for us this game is a big one.

‘Winning the first trophy is massive for a player, no matter which one it is. I remember when Patrice (Evra) and Nemanja Vidic won their first trophy against Wigan (League Cup in 2006). When you get that feeling of winning it’s something you want more and more of.

‘This group has a few players who won the championship, but there’s less and less left of them so for us it would be massive.

‘The prize now is getting to a semi-final and then you’re not too far away. The motivation and the attitude will be right on Wednesday definitely.’

The point is pogba heart and mind is not more in man u.

I don't think he has played in up to five games for United since the beginning of the season