Watching and feeling helpless as the Red Devils suffered a close setback visiting at Bournemouth, Manchester United striker Paul Pogba said he was "gutted" by the close defeat, which came as the club started picking up wins. The Frenchman stressed not being able to do anything was the "worst feeling."
The World Cup winner remains in the injury list and was last seen when the Reds duked it out with Arsenal. His hurt ankle is still protected by a cast, and it's not expected to come off over the next 10 days. United said Pogba will not be called until December.
All in all, the midfielder has involuntary skipped United's last seven games before the duel with the Cherries, Manchester Evening News reported.
"I'm gutted. To see the team lose without being able to play is the worst," Pogba was reported as saying.
The Frenchman added he has been wanting to rush on the pitch and do his share when the Reds are playing, but his priority is to get back to form the soonest.
"I would like to be back to help them but the most important thing is to heal," Pogba said.
His teammate Harry Maguire has admitted that the competition fixtures, specifically the scheduling, are hurting the team. However, there's no other course for the Reds, but to continue fighting, he added.
"No excuses we felt good physically, we felt good mentally. We were going in with confidence. We've got to now get our heads down and we look forward to Thursday and then another big game before the international break where we must bounce back," Maguire said.
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer called the defeat "a step back," likely referring to the immediate consequence of the game. Metro said due to the loss, the Reds slid back to No. 10 in the Premier League after surging to No. 7 in the past weeks.
After 11 matches in the competition, Old Trafford can only boast of 13 points and remains in danger, further slipping down to the relegation zone.
Going into the game, Solskjaer said he was optimistic about pocketing the three points that a win will afford and move up to join the league leaders.
"If you want to get into the top four you need to win games like this. It is a step back for us today, but we need to shake it off and go again," the United manager said.
He admitted that the opposing teams were racing to kick in the first goal of the match, and it was Bournemouth that registered first. It turned out the home team emerged as the victors as well.
