Zlatan Ibrahimovic doesn’t give up: ‘We’re not there yet’

“I will keep playing to see how far I can go.”

Operated at the end of last May – shortly after his Milan team won the tricolor – for reconstruction of his anterior cruciate ligament, with lateral reinforcement and meniscal repair, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is fighting with all his might to be able to return to the field in condition to make a difference. As he has practically always done since Milan – in an operation that many called risky at the time – signed him now almost three years ago.

Interviewed by CNN about the post-injury course and his thoughts about the possibility of quitting, the Scandinavian champion cleared the field of possible misunderstandings: “Quitting playing? We are not there yet. I have a great passion for my game. I live a different situation now with my age and teammates, but I enjoy every day because I think that when I stop playing soccer I will miss it so much that I will not want to have regrets, saying I should have kept playing,” Zlatan began.

“I want to be healthy, and as long as I am at that level, I will keep playing to see how far I can go. As long as I can produce results, I will keep playing. The day I slow down, I want people around me to be honest and say I’m slowing down. At that point I will be realistic,” he continued.

He could not miss an excursus on the ongoing sacrifices to overcome the injury: “I drained the knee once a week for six months. Painkillers every day for six months. I barely slept for six months because of the pain. Never suffered so much on and off the field,” Ibrahimovic admitted.