Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his return to Premier League action on Saturday evening as a substitute in Manchester United's 4-1 win over Newcastle.
Having sustained a cruciate injury seven months ago it was initially suggested that Ibrahimovic would not be fit to return to football until 2018, but after signing a new deal with Man Utd it soon became clear that the Swede does not recover like us mere mortals do.
Wearing #10 on his back, Ibrahimovic was given a hero's reception as he entered the pitch, proving just how popular he became at Old Trafford last season.
He's back! #Zlatan #MUNNEW pic.twitter.com/DTRvCK36JQ
— eir Sport (@eirSport) November 18, 2017
The real highlight, however, came after the final whistle.
Zlatan joined Paul Pogba for the interview on BT Sport, and when he was asked how he managed to return from such a serious injury ahead of time, he left both the interviewer and his teammates in stitches with a vintage Zlatan response.
"Lions, they don't recover like humans."
"We're doing the lions thing again, yeah?"
@DesKellyBTS with Zlatan and Pogba pic.twitter.com/PEvBMttIUI— BT Sport Football (@btsportfootball) November 18, 2017
Lions do not recover like humans.
We've heard it before, but that was well played by the big striker. His return will offer a different element for Jose Mourinho and it will be interesting to see if he plays alongside Romelu Lukaku up front, as the Belgian was shifted to the wing when Zlatan came on against Rafa Benitez's side.
