Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reveals Paul Pogba missed FA Cup due to injury

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed Paul Pogba missed out on the Manchester United squad which faced Watford in the FA Cup on Saturday due to injury. 

Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw were also ruled out before the game, and the United boss will also have to check on Eric Bailly after he suffered a blow to the head during the match. 

Pogba’s 2019-20 season was marred by an ankle injury which required surgery and kept him out of action for many weeks. 

Paul Pogba was not in the squad for Man United’s Saturday FA Cup match due to injury

He also had a spell on the side lines this season, missing a few games due to an ankle problem he picked up on international duty with France.

Manchester United face a big week ahead. They can go top of the league with a win against Burnley and will then face rivals Liverpool, so Solskjaer will be hoping there are no long term injuries to contend with.  

Solskjaer’s happiness at making it through to the FA Cup fourth round was tinged by disappointment at his much-changed side’s display against Watford.

Having fallen to a galling loss to rivals Manchester City in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final, Scott McTominay’s early header secured a 1-0 win against Sky Bet Championship opposition in Saturday evening’s third-round encounter.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be hoping for full fitness with a big week coming up for United

United flew out of the blocks at an empty Old Trafford but dropped off markedly, with the nine players brought into the side leading to a lack of fluency and unconvincing display.

‘Very happy to get through,’ Solskjaer said. ‘We started very brightly.

‘I expected it to be other way round – that we needed 15-20 minutes to get going and find our rhythm.

‘But after a very good start we lost our shape, we lost too many balls.

‘We lost it easily. It was like we started making difficult decisions to try and complicate things and maybe show the manager that ‘I want to play in the next game’.

Pogba’s last couple of seasons have been marred by injuries, particularly related to his ankle

‘I know they’re good players so they didn’t have to do that, but we’re through. That’s the main thing.’

Donny Van De Beek, Brandon Williams and Jesse Lingard were among the alterations, with Dean Henderson and McTominay the only players retaining a starting spot from the City loss.

The latter proved the difference on Saturday evening, when leading…