Romelu Lukaku has been frightening enough this season without Zlatan Ibrahimovic beside him.

When Manchester United spent £75million on the striker this summer, it was ostensibly as a replacement for the Swede.

A horror knee ligament injury looked to have ended Ibra's career early, as he was released by the club in June.

Not many 36-year-old's recover from setbacks like that. However, Zlatan has literally defied medical science and has left doctors stunned by how quickly he's got himself back on track.

Towards the end of the summer transfer window, United handed the former PSG, Inter Milan, and Barcelona striker a new one-year deal.

Jose Mourinho knew full well that he wouldn't have his maverick forward at his disposal for a long time, yet he still believed it was worth keeping faith in last season's club top scorer.

United fans are already champing at the bit to see him in action next to Lukaku. This is an attack that's already scored 21 goals in seven league games so far this term, so to think it's about to get a whole lot better is genuinely terrifying for other Premier League defences.

So, when can we expect to see Ibrahimovic back?

A new update

ESPN have provided a fresh update on his schedule, revealing he's expected to return to United's Carrington training ground on a full-time basis by the end of the month.

Following his release, Mourinho had allowed him to use the club's facilities on an ad hoc basis, maybe with one eye on giving him a new deal if he got better in time.

The Special One dropped another big hint on the timeframe for the player's recovery by including him in his squad for the Champions League group stages, which end in early December.

That would hint that we could see him on the pitch within the next six weeks, although his manager warned a news conference in August:

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

The major positive is that his comeback looks to be well and truly on, even if United fans do have to wait until the New Year. What a boost it could be for their title chances when he does return.

Can Ibrahimovic help United win the league? Have your say in the comments.