Zlatan Ibrahimovic has admitted that the door is open for a return to international action ahead of the summer’s World Cup.
Ibrahimovic has struggled for fitness this season, having recovered from a serious knee injury only to fall victim to another niggle which hindered his recovery.
And while he has not had much game time in the current Premier League campaign, Ibrahimovic is entertaining the notion of returning to the Sweden national team.
Ibrahimovic retired from international football after Euro 2016 but, when asked whether he’d be open to a sensational comeback, the 36-year-old admitted that he couldn’t definitively say no.
“We’ll see, it’s a tough question. I want to feel that I can perform and give back. I don’t want to come just because I‘m somebody. The door isn’t closed for anything,” Ibrahimovic said, via Reuters.
Sweden are up against defending champions Germany, Mexico and Korea Republic in Group F of the World Cup and given the experience of their all-time top scorer, they could do a lot worse than let Ibrahimovic lead the line.
“I miss the national team,” he continued. “When you’ve played in the national team for 20 years and then you’re not in it anymore, and you see the others playing in the national team, it’s tough.
“It’s tough in general, when you think that I‘m injured and not playing. I want to play, with the club team, with the national team, it’s the same thing. They (the Swedish national team) have done a good job.”
Ibrahimovic has returned to United training in recent weeks and while he has his work cut out in terms of breaking into an attacking unit which contains options such as Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford, he could prove a crucial member of the Red Devils squad as the business end of the season approaches.
And, who knows… If he gets a few games under his belt and returns to full fitness, why shouldn’t he take his talents to Russia this summer?
