Injured Pogba Out of World Cup

FILE: France's Paul Pogba celebrates after the Euro 2016 semifinal soccer match between Germany and France, at the Velodrome stadium in Marseille, France. Taken July 7, 2016.

French star Paul Pogba will not play for France at the upcoming World Cup as he needs more time to heal from knee surgery, his agent revealed on Monday.

Pogba agent Rafaela Pimenta said Monday that "following yesterday and today's medical review in Torino and Pittsburgh, it is extremely painful to inform Paul Pogba will still need recovery time from his surgery."

"For this reason, Paul will not be able to join Juventus' squad before the World Cup break nor the French National Team in Qatar," Pimenta added.

The France midfielder underwent successful knee surgery in September in a bid to be fit for the World Cup which kicks off on November 19.

Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri had already plunged into doubt Pogba's availability at the Qatar tournament when he revealed that he would go under the knife.

Allegri said that Juve "needed to be realistic", saying that Pogba would probably not play for the Italian club until January after rejoining from Manchester United in the close season.

Pogba was a star performer in 2018 when France were crowned World champions.