Paul Pogba’s anti-doping tribunal hearing has been delayed to give the player’s legal team more time to prepare their defensive strategy, according to reports.

The Juventus midfielder has endured a nightmare return to Italy since leaving Manchester United following the expiration of his contract at the club last year.

Repeat injuries plagued his first season back in Turin, before he tested positive for testosterone after Juventus’ first Serie A match of the season against Udinese on August 20.

The 30-year-old has hired a top sports lawyer in a bid to prove the allegations wrong and they are now appealing for more time to be given to them ahead of the initial January 18 deadline, as reported by Tuttosport.

Paul Pogba’s upcoming anti-doping tribunal hearing has reportedly been delayed

Pogba is facing a potential four-year ban after testing positive for testosterone earlier in the season

It is further claimed that the request from Pogba’s team has been accepted and the hearing has been postponed until further notice while a new date is established.

The doping test focusses on Pogba being found to have testosterone-boosting DHEA in his system, with the player already being provisionally suspended by Juventus as a result.

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The standard punishment for such an offence is a four-year ban and should that be applied then will likely spell the end of Pogba’s career amongst the world’s elite.

It is understood that Pogba accepts the test was positive but is expected to argue that the substance was mistakenly in his system.

The new hearing will now not take place before February 15, meaning Pogba wouldn’t have played competitive football for nearly five-months.

The new hearing to determine Pogba’s fate will now not take place before February 15

Pogba, joined by his legal team, will appear in front of Italy’s National Anti-Doping Tribunal when a new date is cemented.

Speaking with Al Jazeera in the hours before the doping claims were made public, Pogba said; ‘I want to make people eat their words and prove I am not weak. People can criticise me, but I will never give up.

‘At times, when I have been alone, I have thought: “I don’t want to have money anymore. I don’t want to play football any longer. I want to be with normal people, that way they’ll love me for who I am, not for money or fame.”

‘At times it’s hard. Money changes people and can destroy a family, it can create a war.’