Inside Paul Pogba's nightmare Juventus return: Injuries, blackmail ...

A month of this 'conservative' therapy failed to yield the desired result and, on September 3, Pogba belatedly underwent surgery on his knee.

"The operation went very well, I'm going to recover and come back very, very quickly," he vowed in a social media post. "I wanted to thank you all for your messages, for your support.

"Know that mentally I'm okay despite all the worries, the injury, and the other problems."

Thank you guys for all the messages and support!I'll be back soon - and stronger than ever! ???????? pic.twitter.com/nGgqqz8s6C

— Paul Pogba (@paulpogba) September 6, 2022

Those other problems were no trifling matter. Indeed, it's important to note that Pogba's injury struggles were played out against the backdrop of a devastating familial drama.

On August 28, Pogba's brother Mathias posted a video online promising "explosive" revelations about the midfielder, and his agent, Rafaela Pimenta.

“The French, Italian, English and Spanish public deserve to know certain things,” Mathias’ Pogba said. “Basically, the whole world, including my brother’s fans, France, Juventus and his sponsors, they need to have the information and take an informed decision on whether he deserves respect and love from the fans; if he deserves to play for Juventus and a place in the France World Cup squad.

“I want to open the eyes on the so-called most powerful woman in football, who my brother calls his second mum (Pimenta). I think that what I’ll say will concern many people. I’ll say important things about Kylian Mbappe. Many elements and witnesses confirm what I’ll say. It could be explosive.”

Pogba's legal team immediately confirmed that they were already aware of the claims – which included an allegation that the player had hired a witchdoctor to place a spell on France team-mate Mbappe, of whom he was supposedly jealous – and explained that they were linked to an extortion plot by an organised crime gang.

Pogba had already informed French police that he had been threatened by two hooded men armed with assault rifles in Paris on March 19 of last year and, among other things, had his mobile phone taken away from him, as well as being ordered to pay £11 million ($14m) in owed 'protection fees'. Pogba had also gone to the Italian authorities after being subject to further threats and acts of intimidation in Turin.

Four people, including Mathias, were eventually arrested on September 14, though the former forward was released from prison on December 23.