‘Never suffered so much’ - Zlatan reveals shocking extent of his injury hell at AC Milan

After a long and painful 11 year wait, AC Milan finally returned to the top of Italy to lift the 2021/22 Serie A title.

Stefano Pioli’s young side have been a continually growing force, and after finishing runners up in 2020/21, pipped city rivals Inter to claim the club’s 19th Scudetto this season.

Crafting a youthful squad with a crucial blend of experience throughout, Milan have bounced back from a hellish decade of obscurity as a fallen giant, with the revival kickstarted when Pioli took the reins in 2019.

Initially accepting the job as interim boss, the Italian managed to impress and crucially brought Zlatan Ibrahimovic back to the club at the beginning of 2020, whose freakish firing rate and unwavering leadership has proven invaluable once again.

Ibrahimovic made it his mission to win a trophy with this Milan side during his second spell with the club, having been a crucial part of the last Milan side that lifted the Scudetto in 2010/11, before leaving for Paris Saint-Germain.

It hasn’t been a straightforward campaign for Ibrahimovic though, who has finally proven he is human at the age of 40, with injuries taking their toll on his body.

The Swedish striker has been plagued by a knee problem all season that limited him to just 23 Serie A appearances this season, but still weighed in with an impressive eight goals and three assists. Crucially stepping up as the lone striker in his absence was Olivier Giroud, and together, the experienced duo have carried the pressure of expectation on their shoulders.

But while Ibrahimovic’s struggles with a knee injury were common knowledge to everybody watching Milan this season, the extent as to just how bad the injury was has been kept a rather unknown factor, until now.

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