Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: No 'Deadline' on Paul Pogba, Manchester United Injuries

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said he remains unsure on the fitness of a number of players ahead of their Premier League clash with Norwich City on Sunday, including Paul Pogba.

The Red Devils have had a positive week, backing up a strong performance in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool on Sunday with a 1-0 away win over Partizan Belgrade in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.

Attention will now turn to Carrow Road, with the Red Devils seeking to improve on their position of 14th in the top flight. Ahead of the game, Solskjaer was quizzed on the condition of a number of injured players, including Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Luke Shaw and Axel Tuanzebe.

"We're working very hard to get them fit and, hopefully, we can get them back soon," he said, per Florencia Bernasconi of the club's official website. "I'm not going to put a deadline on it, but it won't be long, hopefully."

Given the fitness issues and the number of matches coming up, it was no shock to see Solskjaer make a number of changes for the Partizan fixture.

Anthony Martial's penalty was enough to see United over the line:

United have gone with a three-man defence in their last two matches, and the team has looked more secure in their play as a result.

Speaking about the tweak in system, Solskjaer said the number of absentees in attacking positions meant that loading the defence was a natural choice:

"I think injuries have made us get into the position where the performances didn't come and we had fit centre-backs, good centre-backs and quality centre-backs. It just made it easier to go to a back three against Liverpool and again in Serbia.

"[...] It's just injuries have made us go into this position but it's working quite well."

Although United kept a clean sheet on Thursday, FootballJOE wasn't convinced by certain parts of the Red Devils defence:

Overall, the arrivals of Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the summer have improved Solskjaer's side at the back. It's in the final third where they have struggled to find consistency this season.

Much of that is down to the absence of Pogba for spells of 2019-20. Although the Frenchman is regularly a topic of debate among supporters, he brings a thrust and ingenuity to the United midfield at his best that nobody else in the squad can provide.

Per James Robson of the Evening Standard, there's little chemistry between the Red Devils in the final third at the moment:

With Premier League, Europa League and Carabao Cup—United play Chelsea in the latter competition on Wednesday—to play for, Solskjaer will be desperate to get some of those big names back in contention.

Pogba is the key man, though, as he has the quality to take the side on to a different level. If United are to recover from the bottom half and push for a top-six place, then the Frenchman could be vital.