The international break has likely come at the right time for Man United’s Paul Pogba.
The marauding midfielder hasn’t had the best time of late with the Red Devils, to the point where Ole Gunnar Solskjaer clearly thought it best to take him out of the firing line.
Whether he’ll earn a recall at club level in due course remains to be seen, but the way in which the United midfield are playing without him suggests it could be a long wait.
Indeed, a move elsewhere either in January or next summer may well suit all parties.
In the meantime, he has duties with the French national team to attend to, and team-mate, Hugo Lloris, has admitted that the weight of the world appears to be on Pogba’s shoulders.
“He’s not at his best, obviously. I knew that before,” he said to RMC Sport, cited by the Daily Mirror.
“That game (France’s 2-0 defeat to Finland) was meant to get him some rhythm. He knew he’d only have 60 minutes. It’s hard to take positives. Obviously Paul isn’t in the best period.
“Like all players who have a club situation that is not positive, they are also impacted mentally.
“I know him well enough and it can happen at some points.”
Should he have a decent couple of games for France in this period, it might well give Solskjaer some food for thought.
It does appear from Pogba’s body language, however, that he’d rather be somewhere else.