Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho warned not to rush Zlatan Ibrahimovic back too quickly by surgeon
Dr Freddie Fu says Zlatan has the 'knees of a 15-year-old boy' but it always takes time to recover
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ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC’S surgeon has warned Jose Mourinho not to rush the striker’s comeback.
Ibra, 35, is expected to return to Manchester United training by the end of October following surgery to repair knee ligaments.
But Dr Freddie Fu, who treated the Swede in the United States, says Ibra must only return when he is “fully fit”.
Fu said: "I have no worry about his injury as it always takes time to fully recover.
"I am sure Manchester United would not need the player urgently for any crucial game either in the league or European competitions.
"He is very strong but I want to see him return as slow as possible, only when he is fully fit for the game.
"There have been many cases of a player returning prematurely with bad consequences.
"When we examined his knee, other than the ligament injuries he sustained, the other parts of his knee are all in top-notch condition, just like those of a 15-year-old boy."
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The veteran striker, winner of 11 league titles in four countries, has been out since April.
He has posted numerous videos to social media that show him working hard towards a comeback.
The former Juventus, Inter, AC Milan, Barcelona and PSG striker suffered a career-threatening knee injury in the second leg of the Europa League quarter-final against Anderlecht.
As SunSport reported this weekend, the Swede is in line to return to first-team training at the end of October.
Fu is confident Zlatan, who scored 28 goals for Jose Mourinho last season, will be back to his very best when he returns.
"He has a very strong attitude," added the doctor.
"Even before the operation, he firmly believed he would come back in his soccer career and would not retire just because of the injury."