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Paul Pogba has not travelled to the Netherlands for Manchester United ’s Europa League clash with AZ Alkmaar following specialist advice about a foot injury and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ’s concerns about “one of the worst” plastic pitches he has seen.
The Red Devils continue their Group L campaign in The Hague on Thursday evening, when the French World Cup winner will be among a number of high-profile absentees.
Pogba played the entirety of last week’s Carabao Cup penalty shootout win against Rochdale and the 1-1 Premier League draw with Arsenal on Monday, but an ongoing foot issue meant he did not travel with United ahead of the AZ fixture.
The club said in a statement: “Following a specialist’s opinion, Paul Pogba requires a period of further rest and conservative treatment for the foot injury he sustained during the game against Southampton in August. Updates will follow in due course.”
Solskjaer provided an update on Pogba’s situation at his press conference on Wednesday afternoon, with the United manager saying it would have been too much of a risk to play the midfielder on the poor artificial surface.
Show all 26 1 /2625 stars that could light up this season's Europa League 25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League 25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Lazio Linked with PSG, Real Madrid and Man United in the past, the Serbian midfielder will be at the forefront of any European success that Lazio have this season.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Reiss Nelson, Arsenal Nelson has been restricted to a bit-part role in the Premier League this year, and will be looking to prove he is deserving of being in the Arsenal team.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Robinho, Istanbul Basaksehir Yes, Robinho is still playing football. Now 35, the Brazilian counts Gael Clichy, Arda Turan and Demba Ba among his teammates at Istanbul Basaksehir
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Marcus Thuram, Borussia Monchengladbach Son of the famous Lilian Thuram, Marcus joined Monchengladbach in the summer from Guingamp. Unlike his father who was a fantastic defender, Marcus prefers scoring goals to preventing them.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Andre Silva, Eintracht Frankfurt Andre Silva has yet to find a real home since leaving Porto in 2017 after a promising loan spell with Sevilla petered out last season. He will be tasked with replacing some of Luka Jovic’s goals in Frankfurt.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Bruno Fernandes, Sporting Lisbon One of the best players in this year's competition, Bruno Fernandes will be keen to further impress Europe’s biggest clubs after a move out of Portugal failed to materialise this summer.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Joe Aribo, Rangers Aribo scored on debut for Nigeria earlier this month, and manager Steven Gerrard has said the midfielder has “the world at his feet”.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Donyell Malen, PSV The ex-Arsenal academy prospect netted five goals in a game against Vitesse earlier this month, and is one of the Netherlands biggest emerging talents.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Jonathan David, Gent The 19-year-old Canadian is a very promising talent. He has 11 goals in 10 games for his country, and five in six thus far in the Belgian League.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Viktor Tsygankov, Dynamo Kiev The young winger is highly rated in Ukraine and has already earned 15 caps for his country. At 21, now is the time to prove he can star in European competition.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Daniel Sturridge, Trabzonspor The ex-Liverpool man is looking to get his career back on track in Turkey, and the chance to play in Europe was surely a factor in his move to Turkey.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Enric Gallego, Getafe In the space of three years, Gallego has gone from part-time footballer/bricklayer to playing in a continental competition. The 33-year-old striker is a real feel-good story.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Odsonne Edouard, Celtic The promising Frenchman has been linked with a move away from Celtic, and the Europa League is a great opportunity to showcase his talents to a wider audience.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League William Saliba, St Etienne Although he is currently injured, Arsenal fans will be keeping an eye on how their loan prospect does - especially given their own defensive frailties.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Fyodor Chalov, CSKA Moscow Chalov is thought to be the future of the Russian national team, but at 21 is already a very capable goalscorer - he has 30 goals in 74 games for his club.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Jerome Roussillon, Wolfsburg The wing-back has enjoyed a rise to prominence at Wolfsburg since joining from Montpellier last season, and is a standout player on their left flank.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Wu Lei, Espanyol Wu Lei has over 60 caps for his China, and the winger became the first Chinese player to score in La Liga earlier this year for Espanyol.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Asmir Begovic, Qarabag Begovic’s stock plummeted last year at Bournemouth and the Bosnian is now looking for redemption in Azerbaijan.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Eduardo Camavinga, Rennes The 16-year-old is one of Europe’s hottest talents, and made headlines earlier this season for his standout performance in a 2-1 win over PSG back in August.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Myron Boadu, AZ Alkmaar Boadu is just 18 but has netted three goals in five Eredivisie games for Alkmaar, and will be eager to put on a show when he travels to Old Trafford in a few weeks time.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Morgan Gibbs-White, Wolves As Nuno Espirito Santo is yet to fully trust Gibbs-White with a significant role in the Premier League, the Englishman is another who will be keen to impress his manager.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Moussa Marega, Porto Porto’s main man is Moussa Marega, and the Malian boasts an impressive record of 33 goals in 67 Primeira Liga games.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Nicolo Zaniolo, Roma The fleet-footed attacking midfielder is one of Italy’s hottest prospects and arguably should be playing in the Champions League, given his talents.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Lucas Ocampos, Sevilla The former Monaco prospect is just about getting his career back on track, and is part of Sevilla’s rebuilding efforts for this season.
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25 stars that could light up this season's Europa League Mason Greenwood, Manchester United The United prospect is set to be unleashed in the Europa League by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and will be determined to carry his youth team form into senior football.
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“It is after discussions with a specialist that we planned he needs further treatment and rest on his ankle,” Solskjaer said.
“And I probably wouldn’t risk him on AstroTurf anyway if he was available for this game, but he needs a bit of rest now.”
Anthony Martial , Luke Shaw , Ashley Young , Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Phil Jones were others absent from the trip to The Hague, where AZ are having to play due to a roof collapse at their own stadium.
Paul Pogba will not feature in the Europa League tie
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The match is being held 47 miles away at ADO Den Haag’s stadium, where the tired, plastic pitch shocked Solskjaer.
“I was surprised they have chosen to play on this pitch when I looked at it,” he said.
“I am used to AstroTurf pitches from back home in Norway and it is not the best I have seen. It is one of the worst ones I have seen for a long while.”
PA
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