Paul Pogba's doping sentence reduced from four years to 18 months after successful CAS appeal

The Juventus and France midfielder could be playing again by March

Paul Pogba's doping ban has been reduced from four years to 18 months upon appeal by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The France international has been suspended since September 3 of last year which is now longer than a full calendar year without kicking a ball.

Pogba, 31, was banned after testing positive for testosterone via dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) owing to products recommended by a nutritionist outside of Juventus' staff. The former Manchester United midfielder was initially confirmed positive after an exam following the Juve clash with Udinese in late August -- a Serie A game which he did not feature in -- and therefore received an initial four-year suspension.

The FIFA 2018 World Cup winner, who scored in Les Bleus's 4-2 Moscow final win over Croatia has appealed the decision at each step of the process and CAS has finally found in his favor. 

From Friday, Pogba's ban from soccer has been reduced from four years to 18 months which means that he could now play this season.

Once the judgement has been made official and it is not contested anywhere, he could return to training from the start of January 2025 with a competitive return by March. 

The fine which also accompanied the suspension has been reduced which means that Pogba could now be on the comeback trail with Juve who are finding form under Thiago Motta.

Pogba has been plagued by injury issues since he returned to Turin from Manchester back in 2022 and he missed France reaching the FIFA 2022 World Cup final in Qatar last year with a knee issue. 

Since returning to Juve, Pogba has only played eight Serie A games across two seasons on top of a police investigation into alleged extortion attempts against him incriminating older brother Mathias.