It felt like the end for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, pendant absent “seven to eight months”
Coming into play on Sunday in Sassuolo during the victory which allowed AC Milan to be crowned Italian champions (0-3), Zlatan Ibrahimovic may have played his last football match on this occasion. The legendary Swedish international striker, who will turn 41 on October 3, will be out for “seven to eight months,” his club said on Wednesday. It must be made from the left knee.
“Arthroscopy had been scheduled for some time to definitively resolve the instability of the joint through reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament, with lateral reinforcement and meniscus repair,” AC Milan said in a statement. The intervention, carried out on Wednesday at the Jean-Mermoz hospital in Lyon, “was perfectly successful”, said the Lombard club.
The former player (among others), of Ajax Amsterdam, FC Barcelona and PSG, had not yet announced whether or not he was stopping his career. Last March, while he was in selection, “Ibra” spoke at a press conference: “I have this little fear: what will happen next? I know that I will have other possibilities, that I will have many offers. But this adrenaline that I have on the lawn I will not find it anywhere else. »
After the title, he had cast doubt
Sunday evening, Ibrahimovic had cast doubt, determining that his choice “depended” on the answers he expected from a physical point of view. “I suffered a lot for this trophy, it’s the one that gives me the most satisfaction,” he said after winning the Scudetto. Asked if he had played his last match, he replied that “it depends[ait] “: “First I have to do things to be well, it depends on what will happen in the next few days”, he had said.
The Swede had already had his left knee activated in June 2021, which caused him to miss the Euros with Sweden and deactivated his start to the season. He has also suffered from Achilles tendons this season, missing many games.