Manchester United ban Paul Pogba from playing basketball

Manchester United have banned midfield maestro Paul Pogba from playing basketball in his spare time, according to reports.

The club are worried that the Frenchman’s antics on the court could cause further injuries to his hamstrings, with the 24-year-old currently sidelined for at least the next few weeks.


United have asked their star man to put a stop to his love of basketball, with medical staff frightened he is at risk of ‘muscle strain, as well as stress impact on his knees and ankles’, The Sun reports.

Mourinho has previously revealed that Pogba’s injury is ‘long-term’, after he limped off during Manchester United’s opening Champions League game against Basle.

Pogba, though, has since offered some hope to United’s supporters, posting a ‘Bruce Lee style’ workout on his Instagram page.

The Frenchman is at Manchester United’s training base at Carrington, working hard in the gym to regain full fitness in the coming weeks.

For now, though, he is not in the manager’s plans, with Mourinho admitting: ‘His injury is not one that I can have the hope like I can have with others.

‘With long-term injuries, I don’t speak about them, so Ibra, Pogba, Rojo and these players, I don’t think about them.’

In truth, United have not struggled without the midfielder, winning all of their five games since he limped off on September 12.

Mourinho’s men are second in the Premier League table – just behind rivals Manchester City on goal difference – heading into the international break.