When Zlatan Ibrahimovic ruptured his knee ligaments against Anderlecht in April, there were fears the 36-year-old's career could be over.Such a serious injury at his age meant Ibrahimovic needed to defy the odds to have any hope of playing at the same level again.In the days and weeks that followed, doctors said the Swede would be out until 2018 and he was released by Manchester United.But seven months later Ibrahimovic is back, having signed a short-term contract at Old Trafford in the summer and successfully recovered from his ACL injury.He completed his return on Saturday, coming on as a substitute in the 77th minute to replace Anthony Martial.Ibrahimovic's arrival was met by a huge cheer from the United fans, who have been ever so excited to see the legendary striker back in action.It remains to be seen whether Ibra is the same player he was last season, but the way he battled back from the brink of retirement is nothing short of sensational.Upon his return, football fans and the media alike took to Twitter to express how happy they were to see Zlatan back on the pitch.Among those was Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker, who produced the most perfect tweet to mark Ibrahimovic's comeback (see below).
LINEKER: GREAT TO SEE IBRAHIMOVIC BACK
Lineker wrote: "Great to see @Ibra_official back in action. To recover from such a serious injury so quickly at his age is remarkable."
Well said, Gary. Doctors were reportedly stunned by how quickly Ibrahimovic's ACL injury healed, which just goes to show how much of a machine he is.
And the ex-Sweden international came agonisingly close to scoring on his return, when Nemanja Matic found him at the back post but his bicycle kick was saved.
It's good to have you back, Zlatan.