Zlatan not recovering in time for Verona, aiming for the Champions League

Milan veteran Zlatan Ibrahimovic will not be ready to play against Hellas Verona this weekend but aims to be present against FC Porto in the Champions League.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports the Swede will not be in the matchday squad for the match against the Gialloblu on Saturday, not even on the bench.

He will not be in training until Thursday and is now focused on returning with the Rossoneri in the Champions League match against the Portuguese giants on Tuesday next week.

The influential attacker has been out with an Achilles issue since scoring against Lazio in Serie A, having only played once in 2021-22, also due to a knee injury he suffered towards the end of last season.

He will not be able to join the rest of his teammates on the training ground at Milanello until Thursday and thus will not be called up to feature in Serie A on Saturday.

Olivier Giroud should be back in contention for Stefano Pioli, while Junior Messias and Daniel Maldini have suffered setbacks and are ruled out.