Manchester United gaffer Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed that French midfielder Paul Pogba was not ready to be included in the Red Devils’ squad for the trip to Burnley after a long absence through injury.
The 2018 World Cup winner returned from nearly three months out with an ankle injury as a substitute against Watford last weekend, while also playing the second half of victory over Newcastle on Boxing Day.
And after Scott McTominay was ruled out due to injury, Pogba was heavily tipped to start for United against Burnley, however, the Frenchman did not make the short trip to Lancashire.
While speaking to media personnel after the match against Burnley in which united won 2-0, Solskjaer did not confirm whether Pogba had an injury, instead said that Paul had a reaction during the game against Newcastle and didn’t feel ready.
“He’s been out for a long while, and he didn’t feel right, he reacted to that one [against Newcastle] so we’ll just have to take our time and get him ready for next time.
“He wasn’t ready today because he has not really done too many games, and he’s had two in three days or whatever, two performances. So he just needed another day of recovery probably.
“When you’ve been out for such a while it’s always going to take time before you are 100 per cent. Today I thought Fred and Nemanja [Matic] played really well.
“And of course, we got two real players out there. I don’t think many of you would think three or four months ago that Fred is going to be one of the best players away at Burnley, at Turf Moor. But he was excellent.”
With the win, Manchester United moved up to the fifth spot in the Premier League standings, while also earning their first clean sheet in 15 Premier League games.
Ole, meanwhile, feels his side are improving gradually after the Red Devils won four out of their last six matches.
“We are getting better, we’re improving. It’s just we’ve had too many draws early on, and that puts us in the position we are in.
“We’ve only lost once each month, which is, if you go a month between every time you lose, that is not too bad for a team that’s learning and developing.
“So hopefully we can go maybe two months between defeats soon. But we are learning, I think the win tonight was a big step forward anyway.
“If you have a clean sheet you always have a chance to win a game, and of course it’s been a while, and for the back four and for David de Gea especially it’s been a great night.
“He only had one save to make, and that’s also a testament to the performance that we’ve put in.”
Manchester United next play Arsenal away at Emirates Stadium on January 1.
