Manchester United set date for Pogba’s return

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba [Courtesy]

Manchester United are hoping to have Paul Pogba fit for their crunch Premier League showdown with Manchester City next month.

The World Cup winner has been sidelined since the end of September after aggravating a long-standing ankle issue in Utd's 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal in the Premier League.

During the international break in October, the former Juventus man headed to Dubai for some warm weather training in a bid to get over the niggle, but was unable to do so.

The France international subsequently had a cast fitted around his ankle in order to aid his recovery and the 26-year-old passed a huge landmark in his rehabilitation on Monday.

After having his cast removed this week, The Sun has claimed that United have targeted the Manchester derby as his return date.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side travel to the Etihad to face their fierce rivals on December 7.

A source told The Sun: “Ole wants to reintroduce him off the bench in the game if at all possible.

“He has kept himself pretty fit in terms of his core fitness. He’s always in top shape, to be honest.”

Pogba travelled to Amsterdam this week to have the cast removed and recorded the procedure, with the clip later uploaded to his Instagram account.

The Frenchman could be seen smiling as the cast was taken off using a drill, no doubt knowing a frustrating period in his career will soon be over.

However, the 26-year-old is still a few weeks away from making a playing return with Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer himself admitting earlier this month that Pogba will likely not be back until early December.

In Pogba's absence, Scott McTominay and Fred have begun building a good partnership in the heart of the pitch for the Red Devils and the Frenchman may have a battle on his hand to regain his starting spot.