“I don’t know how long I have left,” Zlatan Ibrahimovic told BT Sport prior to Manchester United’s second leg match against Anderlecht. “Rashford, Lingard have long careers in front of them. I was there 15 years ago, I don’t know how long I have left.” If the latest reports are confirmed, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has suffered a devastating knee injury that could spell the end of the 35-year-old’s career.
Ibrahimovic has been ruled out for the rest of the season, and reports of a torn ACL and PCL, two of the four ligaments that stabilize the knee joint, mean that the Swede could face up to nine months of intense rehabilitation if he’s to play football at the highest level again.
Very, very awkward landing for @Ibra_official. The studio team fear it could be a cruciate ligament injury. #UEL #MUFC #Zlatan pic.twitter.com/gGISc5dZx4
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) April 20, 2017
Jose Mourinho had previously made it clear that he’d like to extend Ibrahimovic’s contract for an additional year, but this injury has all but ended that conversation.
“I have nothing else to prove, everything has been said,” said Ibrahimovic before the injury. “I want to collect as many trophies as possible and enjoy.”
That quote points to the two possible avenues available to Ibrahimovic now. Either he retires with his legacy as one of the greatest footballers of all time secured, or he continues on his insatiable quest for more trophies after a grueling recovery process.
We hope it’s the latter, but really this is just terrible news either way.
The18 Recommends For You
