News Obiaks News

- Ibrahimovic continues to recover.

- Mourinho does not expect Ibrahimovic to be ready until January.

- Appreciates Zlatan's spirit as he continues to fight for the Club even before he signed the new deal.
Just as the Buzz surrounding Zlatan Ibrahimovic's return to Manchester United and the Premier league, Jose Mourinho has attempted to bust such bubbles by claiming that he does not expect the player to feature in the group stage of the Champions League this season.

Mourinho indicated that he is expecting the player to contribute to the second half of the season which is after Christmas and in the New Year.

He said "He will not be ready for the group phase of the Champion League. I don't think there is any chance of that," said Mourinho, whose side face Benfica, Basel and CSKA Moscow in Group A.

"I'm not thinking Zlatan to play any part of the group phase. Hopefully he can play in the knockout phase, but for that we need to finish top two.

"I don't want to think about it. I don't even ask, speak about it or with the medical team about it.

"He will be an extra man for us in the second part of the season. When I say second part, we say January after Christmas, when the transfer window re-opens, but I have no idea at all."

Although Zlatan had been linked to other European and even American clubs, it was the player's desire to remain with the Old Trafford outfit that ensured he signed a new deal this week.

"It shows two things for me: it shows me the dimension of the player and the club," the United manager told reporters on Friday.

"The player, it would be very easy for him to say goodbye. He had success at Man United, goodbye. He doesn't do that. He wants to follow his other dreams and play football at the highest level.

"And a club like Man United in my opinion has to show how big it is in details and this is a big detail of a player that gets injured with the Man United shirt, fighting for Man United.

"The club has to be there for him and I'm really happy with club and player."