Zlatan not giving up despite ‘really hard’ road back

Ian Watson

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is beginning a “really hard” rehabilitation process from his knee ligament injury because of his age, according to Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho.

The 35-year-old Swede and defender Marcos Rojo have both suffered what their club have termed “significant knee-ligament damage”, with the former’s United future in jeopardy given his deal expires this summer.

Whether he even returns to the game at all is not a question Mourinho is contemplating, but he did concede that, at this stage of his career, Ibrahimovic’s road to recovery is a long one.

Speaking to Sky Sports prior to United’s 2-0 win over Burnley on Sunday, Mourinho said: “The injuries are really big. No player deserves to be injured, but these two cases are even more sad.

“Zlatan, in this phase of his career, it is really hard and Marcos was in the best moment of his career, playing very well for us and finally getting a position as a central defender in the national team. It’s really sad for them.

“I know (how long they will be out for), but it is for the medical department to be more specific and they prefer to wait a couple more days because the players want to see other specialists and to have an extra opinion and we have to respect that. But they are important injuries.”

Asked whether Ibrahimovic would play again, the Portuguese replied: “I don’t care about it in this moment, I just want the player to recover the best he can.”

Later on Sunday, Ibrahimovic posted a message on Instagram vowing to continue.

“First of all, thank you for all the support and love,” he wrote. “Its no news I got injured so I will be out of fotball for a while.

“I will go through this like everythings else and come back even stronger. So far I played with one leg so it shouldn’t be any problem. One thing is for sure, I decide when its time to stop and nothing else. Giving up is not an option. See you soon”