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Milan: Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been declared fit for a reunion with his former club Manchester United whom he represented between 2016 and 2018, a spell that saw him winning Carabao Cup and Europa League. Ibrahimovic, who now plies his trade for Italian giants AC Milan, will be available for the crucial round of 16 second-leg Europa League clash between the two teams to be played on Thursday.
The Swede has missed the past four matches of Milan due to a left thigh injury which also forced him to sit out of the first leg clash against United at Old Trafford. However, Stefano Pioli has said that the veteran forward will definitely not be able for full 90 minutes.
Midfielder Ismael Bennacer has also attained fitness. “Ibra and Bennacer will be available, I’m happy with their recovery,” Pioli told a press conference in Milan. “We’ll see what choices I’ll make tomorrow. His return to the squad is important for us but clearly he won’t be able to play for 90 minutes.”
“The more choices I have, the better It is. Let’s see who will be there tomorrow. In any case, we have shown that we can do well even with absences,” he added.
Ibrahimovic recently was named in Sweden’s squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Kosovo. The 39-year-old thus will make his international return five years after leaving the international area.
Milan have an edge thanks to an away goal – a stoppage time equaliser by Simon Kjaer that helped them return home with a draw last week. “It’s sure that the arrival of Zlatan and Simon Kjaer has helped improve our team in terms of character, they’re big voices on the pitch,” Pioli said. “Zlatan is a great champion and has given us a lot in terms of personality and depth. We’ve raised the bar, raised our own expectations.”
Pioli said beating United will be a sign of progress for the club.
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