Zlatan to return in nine months after successful knee surgery

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has undergone knee surgery and although he looks set to miss nine months of football, his agent, Mino Riola has assured that he will return following rehabilitation.

35-year-old Ibrahimovic damaged his anterior cruciate ligament after his knee bent unnaturally backwards upon landing in the dying stages of the Europa League match against Anderlecht.

The Swede later posted a message on twitter, assuring fans of his intention to return to football. 

Riola said earlier: “Zlatan Ibrahimovic has undergone successful knee surgery. He will make a full recovery and has not suffered a career-ending injury.

“The procedure was performed by Freddie Fu, MD, and Volker Musahl, MD, of the UPMC Sports Medicine program in Pittsburgh.

“Zlatan has started rehabilitation at UPMC and will remain under the care of Dr. Fu and Dr. Musahl throughout his recovery.

“Zlatan and the medical team are not available for interviews at this time. Additional updates will follow at a later date.”

Should Ibrahimovic return to football, he would write one of football’s most inspirational stories. The Swede has played for a number of big clubs in Europe and has managed to produce the goods on every single occasion – winning trophies and scoring goals.

Even at 35, Ibrahimovic turned into an integral cog for Manchester United in his first season, scoring 28 goals in 46 matches. It is not yet known whether the club would take advantage of the one-year extension clause in the player’s contract.