Italy's national anti-doping Tribunal said that Paul Pogba was randomly selected after Juventus' 3-0 win over Udinese on 30th August. The France international was randomly selected for post-match drug testing. If he is found guilty of doping, he could be banned for between two to four years. Juventus in a statement said: "Juventus Football Club announces that today, 11 September 2023, the footballer Paul Labile Pogba received a precautionary suspension order from the National Anti-Doping Tribunal following the results of tests carried out on 20 August 2023. The club reserves the right to consider the next procedural steps."

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Pogba's agent, Rafaela Pimenta, said she was "awaiting the second sample and cannot have an opinion before the results". "What is certain is that Paul Pogba never wanted to break a rule," Pimenta added. The Italian national anti-doping tribunal said Pogba had violated anti-doping rules when it found the prohibited substance "non-endogenous testosterone metabolites" and the results were "consistent with the exogenous origin of the target compounds". The testosterone hormone increases the endurance of athletes. Paul Pogba has three days to produce a counter-analysis of the result to Nado. 
 

Juventus signed Pogba for a second time on a four-year deal in July 2022 when the French man joined the club as a free agent after running down his contract at Manchester United. Pogba's second stint at the Italian powerhouse, however, has been overshadowed by perennial injury problems that saw him miss the Qatar FIFA 2022 World Cup. This season, he has played a total of 51 minutes as a substitute in games against Empoli and Bologna. He managed 108 minutes over six Serie A games last season with three brief appearances and one assist in the UEFA Europa League. He also played for 11 minutes in the Coppa Italia putting his tally of minutes last season to a total of 162 but without a single goal. His injury problems resurfaced again recently when he picked up a minor back problem in his appearance against Empoli. 

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(Image: The Mirror)