'Shocked' Paul Pogba vows to fight 'incorrect' four-year doping ban

French footballer Paul Pogba said he was "shocked and heartbroken" after being handed a four-year ban by Italy's anti-doping tribunal following a positive test for testosterone last August.

The midfielder, 30, and his Italian club Juventus were notified of the decision on Thursday.

Pogba had been provisionally suspended since September after the results of a ‘B’ sample test also came back positive.

The former Manchester United player says he plans to appeal to decision, but the length of the ban raises serious doubts about whether the 2019 World Cup winner's career could be over.

"I am sad, shocked and heartbroken that everything I have built in my professional playing career has been taken away from me," he posted on Instagram.

Declaring the verdict was "incorrect", he denied ever using performance-enhancing substances.

"When I am free of legal restrictions the full story will become clear, but I have never knowingly or deliberately taken any supplements that violate anti-doping regulations", he added.

"As a consequence of the decision announced today I will appeal this before the Court of Arbitration for Sport."

Anti-doping prosecutors had called for the four-year ban to be imposed on the former Manchester United midfielder, who tested positive following Juventus's opening match of the Italian Serie A season against Udinese on August 20, during which he was an unused substitute.

A month later a B sample confirmed the presence of testosterone, and he had been provisionally suspended since.

Pogba's representatives said the testosterone came from a food supplement prescribed by a doctor he consulted in the United States.

The ban could have been limited to two years if Pogba had been able to prove he was not at fault, or