Ibrahimovic undergoes knee operation, needs at least 7 months to recover

Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be out of action for the next seven or eight months after Wednesday's knee surgery, Italian football club AC Milan confirmed.

In a statement, Milan said Ibrahimovic, 40, "underwent an operation on his left knee" in a French hospital in Lyon.

"The arthroscopy had been planned for a while to definitively resolve the joint's instability through the reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament, with lateral reinforcement and meniscus reparation.

"The operation was a complete success and the prognosis is estimated between 7 and 8 months," Milan added.

Ibrahimovic joined Milan in 2020 to win the Italian Serie A title this season.

His contract will expire in June.

This season, Ibrahimovic scored eight goals in 27 appearances for Milan.

During his football career, he scored 492 club goals in 815 matches.

In addition to Milan, he played for Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, and Los Angeles Galaxy.

He won league titles in the Netherlands, Italy, France, and Spain.

Ibrahimovic helped Manchester United bag the 2017 UEFA Europa League trophy.

Separately, Ibrahimovic tallied 62 goals in 121 international caps for his native Sweden.

He represented Sweden in the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup tournaments.