MILAN, June 30 (Reuters). Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return to AC Milan after a calf muscle injury that has kept him away since the season resumed. Coach Stefano Pioli described the 38-year-old Swede as a hungry lion on Tuesday.
Pioli said that Ibrahimovic, who returned for a second stint in January and injured the calf during the Coronavirus stop in training in late May, is likely to be included in the squad for the away game against SPAL on Wednesday.
“Ibrahimovic is doing well. He is a lion, he is always hungry. He had a great training session yesterday. If he repeats that today and gives me the all-clear, he’ll be in the squad, ”Pioli told the Milan television station.
Milan, who once fell to 14th place this season, have only lost two games since the beginning of the year, climbed to seventh place and could be on their way to a place in the Europa League.
Pioli was named successor to Marco Giampaolo in October, who was fired after only seven games of the season and has slowly but surely started to change the situation.
“It takes time to build a team and let it grow while you implement your own ideas. But we cannot look back, we have to live these moments with full attention and intensity, ”said Pioli.
“We have 30 points to achieve our goal. Our current average of two points per game is an excellent number. We hope that we can continue like this and we hope that it will be enough to qualify for Europe. “(Written by Brian Homewood; Edited by Hugh Lawson)
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