Paul Pogba debut decision for Tottenham clash confirmed by Monaco manager

Despite a minor hiccup thwarting his Champions League comeback against Tottenham, Paul Pogba is relishing life at Monaco.

The former Manchester United midfielder joined the Ligue 1 side in June after being given the green light to resume his career in March, following a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling that reduced his four-year doping ban to 18 months.

Pogba was penalised while at Juventus after testing positive for dehydroepiandrosterone in 2023. The World Cup-winning star consistently maintained his innocence and triumphed in his appeal, with the CAS determining his ingestion of the prohibited substance as "not intentional".

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The ex-France international was set to make his Monaco debut – marking his first appearance in over two years – against Angers on Saturday before encountering another fitness setback. However, new manager Sebastien Pocognoli sees a glimmer of hope for the 32-year-old.

"Paul is training but not fully," Pocognoli revealed ahead of Wednesday's clash with Spurs. "I think the process for Paul is a process to make everything step by step. (On Monday) he joined with the group for the first time under my coaching.

"He was smiling, he was enjoying and interacting with the players. For me, this is the first step and this step can take days, can take two to three weeks and then we can build on this through performance and the consistency.

"So, yeah, that is the first step and here we are. That is the situation, but I am very pleased, for sure, to see him on the pitch."

Pocognoli took up his new role on October 11, and the match against Tottenham will be his home debut at Stade Louis II.

The ex-West Brom left-back will have to make do without Eric Dier due to a hamstring problem, but he fondly recalls his only encounter with Spurs in 2014.

"I played once in the old stadium of Tottenham and I think the coach was (Mauricio) Pochettino," Pocognoli reminisced. "I played against my former team-mate Nacer Chadli plus Mousa Dembele. It was in the old-fashioned stadium, it was a nice atmosphere and we won 1-0."

Joining Pocognoli for pre-match press duties was Monaco forward Maghnes Akliouche, who was rumoured to be on Tottenham's radar over the summer.

"It was very flattering to have these kind of stories and links but I am a Monaco player and I am playing against Tottenham (on Wednesday) so I will give my best," the 23 year old stated.

"In terms of whether I want to play in the Premier League in the future... why not? But we'll see. What is important for me is (Wednesday's) game. The important thing for us is to win the game. I am not focused at all on other links and pressure."