Zlatan Ibrahimovic's defiant Instagram post will have Man United fans feeling more positive about his injury
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has dismissed retirement rumours and insisted that he will return stronger after an injury layoff, .
Manchester United’s top scorer sustained significant knee ligament damage in Thursday’s Europa League victory over Anderlecht, with teammate Marcus Rojo also picking up a similar injury in the same game.
Ibrahimovic, who has scored 250 goals since turning 30, had fulfilled the requirements to extend his one-year stay at Old Trafford and was in the process of negotiating a contract extension.
The 35-year-old vowed he won’t let injury dictate when it’s the time to stop in an Instagram post.
“First of all, thank you for all the support and love,” he wrote.
“Its no news I got injured so I will be out of fotball for a while.
“I will go through this like everythings else and come back even stronger. So far I played with one leg so it shouldn't be any problem.
“One thing is for sure, I decide when its time to stop and nothing else. Giving up is not an option.”
Manager Jose Mourinho said the injury will be particularly difficult for Ibrahimovic “in this phase of his career”.
He told Sky Sports: “The injuries are really big. No player deserves to be injured, but in these two cases are even more sad.
“Zlatan, in this phase of his career, it is really hard and Marcos was in the best moment of his career, playing very well for us and finally getting a position as a central defender in the national team. It's really sad for them.
“I know (how long they will be out for) but it is for the medical department to be more specific and they prefer to wait a couple more days because the players want to see other specialists and to have an extra opinion and we have to respect that. But they are important injuries.”
Asked whether Ibrahimovic would play again, the Portuguese replied: “I don't care about it in this moment, I just want the player to recover the best he can.
“I'm not thinking about it. I'm not sad for the team - the impact not to have them can affect the team in terms of results and ambitions, I don't care about it, I just think about them.”
