Why isn't Paul Pogba playing against PSG? Man Utd star's absence explained

Paul Pogba has made the trip with the Manchester United squad to face Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday for the second leg of the last-16 Champions League clash, but the World Cup winner is unable to take to the Parc des Princes field.

The 25-year-old is suspended for the encounter in his hometown and therefore cannot feature, adding to a long side of injury problems troubling the Red Devils.

Pogba endured a frustrating night in the first leg, which PSG won 2-0 thanks to goals from his international team-mates Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe.

He was man marked by Marquinhos throughout the game and was unable to exert the influence that has come to be expected of him since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took temporary charge of the team from Jose Mourinho in December.

With just a couple of minutes of the match remaining, he lunged into a tackle with Dani Alves, which referee Daniele Orsato deemed worthy of a second booking.

Solskjaer felt that the France international was unfortunate. Speaking to BT Sport, he said: “Paul is trying to get his body across and Dani Alves is clever enough to put his foot in there. Paul wants to shield the ball - he's unlucky.”

Despite his dismissal, it was the first time that Pogba had found himself in hot water over the course of this season’s competition.

As such, UEFA has elected to only give him a one-match suspension, meaning that if United were able to overcome the French champions, he would be eligible to play in the first leg of the quarter-final.

And even if they lose to PSG, he will be able to feature in the first group stage match next season if United can work their way to qualification via a top-four finish in the Premier League.

How many times has Paul Pogba been sent off?

His first dismissal came towards the end of the 2012-13 season, when he was ordered off seven minutes from the end playing for Juventus in a Serie A match against Palermo. He was subsequently handed a three-match ban and missed all the remaining fixtures as the Turin side closed out the Italian title.

Pogba has an excellent disciplinary record at club level, with that red card just the third in his career.

His only Premier League red card, meanwhile, came during the 2017-18 season, when he was sent off after 74 minutes in a 3-1 victory against Arsenal, in which he had provided two assists.

It proved a costlier blow as he missed the Manchester derby against leaders City, which United lost 2-1. Subsequently, he watched from the stands as the Red Devils narrowly beat Bournemouth and WBA.