Zlatan Ibrahimovic: AC Milan striker ready to face the former Manchester United club in the return of the Europa League
The 39-year-old trained yesterday with Stefan Pioli’s squad for Thursday’s match at San Siro and should be called up on the bench; The Swede has been absent from AC Milan’s last four games, including the first leg at Old Trafford, with a right thigh injury.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is set to play for AC Milan in the second leg of the Europa League round of 16 against Manchester United on Thursday, according to Sky Italia.
The striker trained as usual on Tuesday with Stefan Pioli’s squad ahead of Thursday’s match at San Siro and should be called up on the bench.
Ibrahimovic has been absent from AC Milan’s last four games, including the first leg at Old Trafford, with a right thigh injury.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer welcomed the challenge of facing AC Milan and former club striker Ibrahimovic in the Europa League round of 16 and says it will be like a Champions League draw
The score was finely drawn 1-1 ahead of the game after goals from Amad Diallo and Simon Kjaer earned a share of the tally in the first leg on 11 March.
When the draw was first made, there was a lot of excitement over Ibrahimovic’s potential reunion with his former team after establishing himself as a fan favorite during his short stint, scoring in the Community Shield and triumphs of the EFL Cup in 2016/17.
The Swede also played a key role in that season’s Europa League winning streak, but a serious knee injury in the quarter-final triumph against Anderlecht ruled him out for the remainder of the campaign.
On Tuesday, Ibrahimovic was also named to the Sweden squad for the first time since he announced his retirement in 2016, ahead of the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Kosovo and a friendly against Estonia.
The 39-year-old, who set the national record of 62 goals in 112 games for Sweden between 2001 and 2016, will become the oldest player in the history of the Swedish national team if he plays.
