Zlatan Ibrahimovic continues his recovery from a knee injury, but Sweden coach Janne Andersson warned the striker’s rehabilitation is not at an advanced stage.
Ibrahimovic suffered a knee injury during Milan‘s 3-0 win against Juventus in May.
There had been doubts about which treatment the 39-year-old should have followed, but he eventually decided with a knee specialist not to have surgery but to undergo conservative treatment instead.
However, his return to action still seems far away.
“I have had contact with Zlatan. His recovery is not at an advanced stage, as we had understood from the beginning. I did an extra check to see how his rehabilitation is going,” Sweden coach Andersson said at a press conference today.
“We knew he would not be able to join the team, but I checked to be sure. I would have spoken to him regardless of his forfeit but of course, I took the opportunity to check and this situation arose.”
Ibrahimovic scored 15 goals in 19 Serie A appearances in 2020-21 and has recently extended his €7m-a-year deal with the Rossoneri until June 2022.
The Swede had returned from international retirement in March and was supposed to play Euro 2020, but the knee injury prevented him from participating in the competition that begins in Rome tomorrow.