Paul Pogba's Manchester United return date disclosed

What's the story?

Paul Pogba has been a massive miss for Manchester United and fans have been waiting for quite a while to hear an update on his return since being sidelined nearly two months back.

The Manchester Evening News are now reporting that the charismatic Frenchman is all set to return to action right after the international break - on Saturday, the 18th of November - when the Red Devils host Rafael Benitez's Newcastle United.

In case you didn't know...

Pogba injured his hamstring in a fairly innocuous looking incident in United's opening Champions League match against, Basel, one they won 3-0 and while it appeared to be a minor knock, the injury seems to have been aggravated post the match with some reports suggesting that Pogba's insistence on working on it with his personal trainer - despite advice against it by United's medical staff - causing the aggravation.

Whatever the reason may be, though, Pogba has now missed two crucial months of action for United.

The heart of the matter

And boy, have United missed him! Without his belligerent presence in the middle of the park United's defence, midfield, and forward line seem to have lost all semblance of cohesion with Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Romelu Lukaku being affected the most - the two started the season like a house on fire but in the recent past, both have struggled terribly to establish themselves and make a mark on the games they play in.

Here are the pure statistics that bear the assumption out:

Chances per game

With Pogba: 14.8

Without Pogba: 7.0

Big chance per game

With Pogba: 3.0

Without Pogba: 1.6

Goals per game

With Pogba: 3.0

Without Pogba: 1.6

Video

Here's the Pogba injury:

Looked like nothing, eh?

Author's Take

Paul Pogba's return can't come too soon for United, and if he does return against Newcastle - even on the bench - the team will get a boost that it desperately needs as they watch the 'Noisy Neighbours' pull away atop the Premier League table