Unless you have turned off all social media or news since Manchester United’s game against Anderlecht, you’ll be fully aware that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is out for the remainder of the season, if not 2017.
Considering his near God-like status in Sweden, this has been bad news in his home country, and there are fears this could mean the end of his career.
To get some perspective of what it feels like to go through a tough time with injuries towards the end of a career, Expressen decided to have a chat with former Manchester United midfielder Jesper Blomqvist, currently performing on TV Show “Let’s Dance” in Sweden.
Asked about his former national team teammate, he said: “It really looked bad in pictures. I really feel for Zlatan, and it’s extremely sad. It’s incredibly tough to come back, and I don’t know how Manchester United are looking at it”.
Considering the Swedish striker was in talks to potentially extend his Old Trafford contract by an extra year prior to the injury, speculation has arisen that now could be the end of his time in the north of England.
Asked if he felt that was the case, Blomqvist wasn’t entirely certain.
He said: “It’s hard to answer. United is a club that is known to support their players when they get injured. At the same time, Zlatan is 36 and it takes at least a year to recover from that injury. I think United will give him a chance and help him until the summer.
“But then it’s about money, and they need to reach an agreement there. Zlatan negotiation position isn’t the same as it was three weeks ago. They must consider what’s best for the club.”
Having had four knee operations himself, with years of rehabilitation, the former United left midfielder had a warning for Zlatan: “It will be tough, especially mentally. The worst is mentally coming back from such an injury.”
Let’s be honest, if there’s one man whose mental strength cannot really be questioned, it’s probably the Manchester United striker.
