A bad season for Paul Pogba keeps finding ways to get even worse.
Injuries have derailed the 2022/23 campaign for the midfielder, who missed out on France's 2022 World Cup adventure and has barely featured since returning to Juventus.
Only recently deemed fit again, Pogba was aiming for a third straight appearance for the Italian giants on Thursday night in the Europa League.
But the 29-year-old was surprisingly omitted from Juve's squad just 24 hours before their match against Freiburg.
MORE: Europa League Round of 16 fixtures and results
Why was Pogba dropped by Juventus?
Pogba's Europa League omission was the result of a disciplinary issue.
The Frenchman reported late for a team meeting the night before the game against Freiburg and Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri didn't hesitate to cut Pogba from his squad.
“I can confirm Paul Pogba was late at the pre-match team meeting yesterday, that’s why he’s not in the list for Europa League game — it’s matter of respect for the group," Allegri said.
“Paul will be back as part of the group starting from tomorrow."
Juventus would manage to win the game without Pogba as Angel Di Maria scored the only goal in the 53rd minute.
Paul Pogba has not been called up for Europa League game vs Freiburg due to disciplinary reasons 🚨⚪️⚫️🇫🇷 #UEL
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 9, 2023
No new injuries — but Pogba arrived late yesterday evening and he won’t be part of Juventus list. pic.twitter.com/Ag6CjW56Cb
Pogba injury news
Pogba's latest absence caps off a horror season for the midfielder.
A knee injury in pre-season proved costly with Pogba ultimately requiring surgery to fix the issue.
This ruled him out of the World Cup and a further setback post-surgery meant his first appearance for Juventus this campaign didn't come until February 28.
Pogba played 22 minutes off the bench against Torino that day and managed to back up in their following game against Roma as he featured in the final 13 minutes of the 1-0 loss.
While he's missed yet another match for Juventus since, the good news is that Pogba has seemingly remained fit and should be available for the club moving forward as they look to end a challenging season with some silverware.
After a points deduction, Juve currently sit seventh in Serie A and next face bottom-side Sampdoria at home on Sunday.
While their league title aspirations are over, Allegri's team remain alive in the Europa League and Coppa Italia.
