Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be out of football for the rest of the year and probably also a bit into 2023 due to knee surgery.
Despite that, the Swede signed a new contract with Italian champions Milan a couple of weeks ago.
The contract runs until the summer of 2023.
Now Stefano Pioli, Milan's head coach, pays tribute to the Swede's importance even if he is not always on the pitch.
Ibrahimovic missed large parts of last season due to injury.
- Zlatan is not with, but still with, because he is constantly in contact with everyone.
He is a champion who can still make a difference, he says in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport and continues:
- But first of all he has to be injury free.
At the end of last season, he made some crazy sacrifices.
People don't know about it but he could only train for a quarter of an hour.
Milan confirmed at the end of May that Ibrahimovic, who turns 41 in October, has undergone surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, and will thus be out of action for seven to eight months.
But the return to the club's training facility, Milanello, is approaching, according to Pioli.
- He has superior technique and intelligence, but above all he is still really hungry.
From mid-August he will be at Milanello to continue his path forward.