French star midfielder Paul Pogba of Serie A's Juventus will miss the coming FIFA World Cup in Qatar from November 20 to December 18, his agent Rafaela Pimenta said on Monday.

"Following yesterday and today's medical review in Torino and Pittsburgh, it is extremely painful to inform Paul Pogba will still need recovery time from his surgery," Pimenta said. "For this reason, Paul will not be able to join Juventus squad before the World Cup break nor the French national team in Qatar. If wishful thinking would change things, Paul would be playing tomorrow."

Having left Manchester United for Juventus as a free agent during the summer transfer window, Pogba has been dealing with injuries most of the time. The latest one was in his knee that he suffered in the pre-season game in July. He decided not to undergo surgery at first, but then changed his mind and had the operation in September.

"Paul Pogba, in light of the recent radiological examinations performed at J|Medical and the consultation carried out in Pittsburgh by Prof. Volker Musahl on the evaluation of his knee, needs to continue his rehabilitation program," Juventus said in a statement on Monday.

Four years ago, Pogba helped France win the World Cup championship in Russia. His role for Les Bleus was more important than the one goal and one assist he had in the tournament. As the offensive engine of the team, he ran 58.2 kilometers in the six games he played and completed 245 of the 296 passes he attempted. He was one of the most solid insurances behind Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann in Didier Deschamps' squad.

France will also miss another key midfielder, N'Golo Kante of Chelsea, because of injury. The pair of Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot are likely to fill in the positions of Pogba and Konte against Australia, Denmark and Tunisia in Group D in Qatar.

No team has ever defended the World Cup championship since Brazil in 1962.