Zlatan Ibrahimovic looks likely to miss the first leg of Milan’s tie against Manchester United in the last 16 of the Europa League after picking up an adductor injury in the 2-1 victory over Roma at the weekend.
Ibrahimovic, Milan’s top scorer this season, was forced off during the Serie A contest on Sunday, with coach Stefano Pioli confirming after the match that he had picked up a muscle problem and would be evaluated on Monday. Italian media reported that tests showed that Ibrahimovic had injured his adductor muscle and said he would be evaluated again in 10 days.
He is expected to miss Milan’s next two league games against Udinese and Verona, as well as the trip to Old Trafford on 11 March. Milan are second in Serie A, four points behind city rivals Internazionale.
This week, the Swede had agreed to appear as a guest for four nights at the San Remo music festival in Italy.
Ibrahimovic has also provoked a response from the NBA’s LeBron James, after saying that athletes such as the Los Angeles Lakers star should stay out of politics and “do what you’re good at doing.”
James replied by saying: “I will never shut up about things that are wrong. I preach about my people and I preach about equality, social justice, racism, voter suppression – things that go on in our community.”