PAUL POGBA will plead with Italian Judges not to effectively end his top flight career - after being told he faces a four YEAR drugs ban.

Prosecutors in Rome are recommending the France and former Manchester United midfielder receives the swingeing sanction in a hearing expected early next year.

It would rule the player out of football until September 2027, leaving him out of action until his mid-30s.

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Pogba was provisionally suspended last month after a sample taken after Juventus’ win at Udinese on August 20.

The midfielder, an unused substitute, tested positive for elevated levels of the naturally occurring hormone DHEA.

DHEA is on the world anti-doping banned substances list and can produce other hormones, including testosterone.

Pogba, who has played just a handful of minutes since he returned to Juve in the summer of 2022 after knee and thigh injuries - including missing the Qatar World Cup - was suspended on September 11, pending the second analysis.

That B-sample also gave a positive response, leaving Pogba facing a lengthy ban.

The France star claimed the failure may have been due to supplements imported from the US that he has taken as part of his recovery programme.

Pogba hoped the mitigation might sway prosecutors away from recommending the mandatory four-year ban under world anti-doping rules that are followed by the Italian Olympic Committee.

But Pogba, who will not embark on a “plea bargain” with prosecutors, will write to the Court to urge leniency.

The player, who insists he would never knowingly take a performance enhancing substance,  is expected to have scientific evidence to back his argument that his breach was inadvertent and entirely unintentional.

Juventus’ stance on the issue has not helped Pogba’s cause, with a growing suspicion that the club are seeking to get his £10m annual salary off their wage bill.

Confirmation of the four year ban would allow Juve to sack him for breach of his contract, due to run until 2026.

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Source: SUN

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