By Alex Al-Kazzaz
Zlatan Ibrahimović has always been a tough dude fully committed and dedicated to the game of soccer. The 40-year-old striker has been around for a very long time. In a career-spanning over 20 years, Zlatan has played in seven different countries. He started in his native Sweden and he's played all over western Europe, including a spell in the United States with the L.A. Galaxy. Zlatan is currently in his second spell with A.C. Milan having previously playing there from 2010 to 2012.
Last weekend, A.C. Milan won the Serie A title from the first time since 2011. Zlatan revealed that he spent the last six months playing with no ACL! The veteran striker recently underwent knee surgery and he faces a recovery process lasting up to eight months. Furthermore, Zlatan's contract ends next month.
On his Instagram, Zlatan revealed that for the last six months, he could only train ten times, he took over 20 injections, took painkillers everyday, and that the pain was so bad, it badly affected his ability to sleep. In addition, he wanted to keep a promise he made to his coach and teammates; to make them the champions of Italy.
Back in March, Zlatan said he intends to continue to play. He said he wants to play until there is "someone better" than him. In addition, Zlatan admitted that the idea of retirement gives him a sense of "panic". There's no doubt that Zlatan can still play at an elite level when he's healthy and there's no doubt he is one of the best not only his generation, but of all-time. He is Sweden's all-time leading scorer(62).
At this point of his career, who knows how much he has left. However, at the end of the day, if Zlatan insists he feels good and his fitness proves that he's good to go, then there will definitely be opportunities out there for him. For now, he needs to heal, rest, and rehab.