Without yet scoring a goal, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has still managed to garner huge levels of excitement since making his return.

Jose Mourinho is rightly easing the Swede back into action, bringing him on for Juan Mata in the 62nd minute of Manchester United's 1-0 win over Brighton.

That's the third game in a row in which he's made a substitute appearance and while normally the 36-year-old wouldn't take kindly to being on the bench, it's remarkable that he's playing at all.

A horror knee ligament injury looked to have ended the veteran striker's career back in April.

Only a superhuman like Zlatan could complete his rehabilitation in such a short space of time, and Mourinho now has the unenviable task of accommodating both the former PSG man and Romelu Lukaku into his side.

When he was introduced against the Seagulls, it became clear he was the more popular choice among the fans right now - not least because Lukaku has only scored once in his last 10 games in all competitions.

There's undoubtedly something magic about Ibra, and it's fair to say the Brighton players were just as excited about facing him as the Old Trafford crowd were to see him.

Forward Tomer Hemed was the player lucky enough to swap shirts with him at the end of the game, a fact he was keen to show off on Instagram the following day.

Hemed responds 

Hemed wrote:

"You don't change shirts with Zlatan, Zlatan's shirt changes you #zlatanfacts. Thank you legend @iamzlatanibrahimovic"

It's great to see Brighton's newly-promoted group of players taking such joy from playing Premier League football.

They were a credit to themselves too, giving a good account of themselves at the Theatre of Dreams and only losing out to a Lewis Dunk own goal.

Shane Duffy wasn't quite as welcoming to Zlatan, going in with a crunching tackle that will have left him feeling sore today - never a wise move on a player who has just come back from such a serious injury.

Fortunately, the United star wasn't too badly scathed and managed to stay on to make Hemed's day at the end.

Should Mourinho start Ibrahimovic when he's fit? Have your say in the comments.