Professor Pier Paolo Mariani believed that Zlatan Ibrahimovic could return from his latest injury setback in Milan: “If he is motivated and able to recover.”
“I can’t talk about things I don’t know,” Mariani told Il Corriere dello Sport.
He went on: “I’ll just say that a champion like Ibrahimovic can definitely start expressing himself on the level he is used to.
“I don’t know the timing because I don’t know the extent of the injury, so I can’t evaluate how much strength or elasticity it could lose.
“It depends on many factors. Certainly, at 38 or 39 years of age, it can depend on the psychological factors of the athlete. If he’s motivated, if he has the will to recover after a long period out, nothing can prevent him from returning to his standard level.”
Reports in Italy believe that the 38-year-old may have harmed the Achilles tendon and may have been forced to stop for a longer time.
But Mariani, who suffered a number of football injuries, believed that the veteran may return to his ‘normal’ level.
The former Sweden international will be checked today, after sustaining a calf injury during yesterday’s training with the Rossoneri.
