عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Sports

Pogba Decides against Knee Surgery to Keep World Cup Hopes Alive

03 November 2015, North Rhine-Westphalia, Moenchengladbach: Then Juventus's Paul Pogba reacts during the UEFA Champions League Group D soccer match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Juventus. (dpa)
03 November 2015, North Rhine-Westphalia, Moenchengladbach: Then Juventus's Paul Pogba reacts during the UEFA Champions League Group D soccer match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Juventus. (dpa)
TT
TT

Pogba Decides against Knee Surgery to Keep World Cup Hopes Alive

03 November 2015, North Rhine-Westphalia, Moenchengladbach: Then Juventus's Paul Pogba reacts during the UEFA Champions League Group D soccer match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Juventus. (dpa)
03 November 2015, North Rhine-Westphalia, Moenchengladbach: Then Juventus's Paul Pogba reacts during the UEFA Champions League Group D soccer match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and Juventus. (dpa)

Paul Pogba has decided not to go undergo surgery on his knee and will bank on rest and rehabilitation getting him fit in time to play for France at the World Cup finals later this year, media reports said on Wednesday.

The Juventus midfielder damaged his meniscus in one of his first training sessions with his new club late last month while they were on tour in Los Angeles.

Surgery would rule him out of the Qatar World Cup from Nov. 21-Dec. 18 and Pogba, who has 91 caps for his country, would instead opt for "conservative therapy".

Italy's Tuttosport said the regime would consist of three weeks in the gym and swimming pool then two weeks of individual work. All going well, Pogba would return in time to be able to prepare for the World Cup where France start their campaign against Australia in Doha on Nov. 22.

French sports daily L'Equipe said on Wednesday that Pogba's decision had put him on collision course with his new club, who wanted him to undergo surgery and miss the World Cup so that he could be back for them in the second part of the season.

Pogba returned to Juventus after several tumultuous seasons at Manchester United.

Most Viewed

 
 
Sports

Sinner Beats Fritz to Win ATP Finals

Tennis - ATP Finals - Inalpi Arena, Turin, Italy - November 17, 2024 Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates after winning the final match against Taylor Fritz of the US REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Tennis - ATP Finals - Inalpi Arena, Turin, Italy - November 17, 2024 Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates after winning the final match against Taylor Fritz of the US REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
TT
TT

Sinner Beats Fritz to Win ATP Finals

Tennis - ATP Finals - Inalpi Arena, Turin, Italy - November 17, 2024 Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates after winning the final match against Taylor Fritz of the US REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Tennis - ATP Finals - Inalpi Arena, Turin, Italy - November 17, 2024 Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates after winning the final match against Taylor Fritz of the US REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner added another big title to his tremendous year, beating US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday for the ATP Finals trophy before his home fans — and before a final verdict is reached in his doping case.
Sinner won his first two Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and US Open in 2024 and had already clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking.
But Sinner also tested positive in two separate drug tests in March and a decision to clear him of wrongdoing was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency in September. A final ruling is expected from the Court of Arbitration for Sport early next year.
Sinner’s explanation was that the banned performance-enhancer entered his system unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist, who had used a spray containing the steroid to treat his own cut finger.
Sinner maintained his recent mastery over Fritz, having also beaten the American in the US Open final in September and in the group stage this week at the elite event for the year’s top eight players.
By sweeping all five of his matches en route to the trophy, Sinner earned $4.8 million — the largest winner’s prize on the men’s tour, The Associated Press reported.
Sinner became the first Italian to win the finals and he went one step further than last year, when he lost the championship match to Novak Djokovic, who withdrew this time. And he did so without dropping a set – which was last accomplished by Ivan Lendl in 1986.
The crowd inside Inalpi Arena included multiple clusters of fans wearing orange — a tribute to Sinner’s red- and orange-colored hair, and how he once ate carrots during a match. There were orange carrot costumes, orange wigs, orange hats, jackets and plenty of other orange items, too.
Some fans even had carrots in their mouths.
The crowd broke into its customary chant of “Ole, Ole, Ole; Sin-ner, Sin-ner” when Sinner produced a drop-shot winner to break for a 4-3 lead in the first set.
Sinner faced a break point while serving for the first set but saved it with a big serve out wide that Fritz couldn’t return. Then he served an ace — his 10th of the set — to close it out.
Another break by Sinner early in the second and the match was virtually over.
Sinner extended his winning streak to 11 matches. He’s won 26 of his last 27 matches and ends the ATP season with eight titles and an overall record of 70-6.
Fritz was attempting to become the event’s first American champion since Pete Sampras beat Andre Agassi in the title match 25 years ago.
Still, Fritz will rise to a career-high No. 4 in the rankings on Monday after beating No. 2 Alexander Zverev in a third-set tiebreaker in the semifinals on Saturday. That will make him the highest-ranked American man since Andy Roddick was No. 4 in August 2007.
It’s the latest in a series of achievements for Fritz, whose run in New York made him the first American man to reach a Grand Slam singles final since Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009.
At the start of the week, Fritz told The Associated Press that his “career has always been a very steady progression and just improving a little bit each year.”
Both Sinner and Fritz will conclude their seasons representing defending champion Italy and the United States, respectively, in the Davis Cup finals, which start Tuesday in Malaga, Spain.
The German duo of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz beat Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6) to win the doubles title.