It's almost time for Zlatan Ibrahimovic to finish what he started at Manchester United.Zlatan has spent the past six months recovering from an ACL knee injury suffered against Anderlecht and by the sounds of it, he's close to returning.Jose Mourinho claims the 36-year-old, who signed a short-term deal with United over the summer, could be ready to play before the close of 2017.He said last week: "Zlatan will be back. Zlatan is working here and under control, working as I would expect - so, so hard."He's not back next week or a couple of weeks. Let him take his time. Do I believe he'll be back in 2017? Yes I do."So, December is when we can expect Ibrahimovic to be playing for United again, which couldn't be more perfect timing where the Red Devils' title bid is concerned.United's weaknesses have come to the fore over the past few weeks against Liverpool and Huddersfield, which Ibrahimovic can help to rectify.Whereas Romelu Lukaku likes to play on the shoulder of defences and make runs in behind, Ibrahimovic is one of the best when it comes to hold-up play.In a nutshell, the Swede gives Mourinho another option going forward if Lukaku is ever struggling to make an impact, like in the 0-0 draw at Anfield.Ibrahimovic's charisma and experience will also be vital when he returns; the level of confidence he brings on the pitch cannot be understated.Ahead of his highly-anticipated return, Ibra has posted various exciting updates on his social media pages to keep United fans informed.His latest was a picture alongside Eric Bailly and David de Gea (see below) with the caption: "Now he can't run away."

ZLATAN'S LATEST TWEET

Ibrahimovic and Bailly prank each other all the time at Carrington, such as when Bailly kicked his teammate in the bum and scampered away.

However, eagle-eyed United fans have noticed something seriously weird about Ibrahimovic's tweet: Bailly's messed up little finger.

Take a closer look at Bailly in the picture and you'll see his pinky is completely bent out of shape - what on earth happened?!

MAYBE IT WAS ZLATAN...

Gross. Hopefully Bailly will provide some kind of explanation on his pinky now everyone will have seen it.

The Ivorian hasn't played for United since late-September due to an injury picked up on international duty - perhaps this was it.

He's expected to return against Swansea City in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, though.