It’ll be hard for Zlatan to come back, says Jose
JOSE MOURINHO believes Manchester United’s veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic faces a ‘really hard’ challenge to overcome a serious knee ligament injury at the age of 35.
Ibrahimovic could be out for the rest of the year after suffering a suspected ruptured cruciate in his right knee during United’s Europa League quarter-final win over Anderlecht last Thursday.
It has cast doubt over the Swede’s prospects of staying at Old Trafford for a second year and extending his career, with his contract running out in two months.
Mourinho said: ‘ No player deserves to be injured but I think in this case it’s even more sad because for Zlatan, in this stage of his career, it’s really, really hard.’
Asked if he knows how long Ibrahimovic will be out of the game, Mourinho added: ‘It’s for the medical department to be more specific and to evaluate over the next few days to see an expert’s opinion. We have to wait and see for that.
‘I don’t care about it in this moment. I just want the player to recover the best he can and we’ll see about it.’
Marcos Rojo suffered a serious knee injury in the same game, and United’s players had the names of both on the back of their training kit when they warmed up before yesterday’s 2-0 win at Burnley.
Mourinho paid tribute to the injured pair, adding: ‘It’s a big blow but we are really sad for them, not for us as a team because they are more important than us and their injuries are really big.
‘Marcos probably at this moment in his career is playing very well for us and also finally getting a position as central defender in the international team, so we’re really sad for them.
‘We don’t cry because we lose quality. We cry because they are important surgeries and two important periods of recovering and we feel for our friends.
‘Honestly, I’m not sad for the team, I’m not worried about the impact. I don’t care about it, I just think about them, and like everybody I’m really sad.’
Wayne Rooney made only his second Premier League start of 2017 in Ibrahimovic’s absence and scored United’s second goal.
‘It was a high getting to the semi-final in Europe but it was a blow to lose Marcos and Zlatan,’ said Rooney. ‘The lads who have come in have given the manager something to think about.’