Bengaluru, May 15: Zlatan Ibrahimovic will not feature for Sweden at Euro 2020, head coach Janne Andersson has confirmed.
Having reversed his international retirement to play in the rescheduled tournament, injury will keep Zlatan Ibrahimovic out of Euro 2020.
"Today I have spoken to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has unfortunately communicated that his injury will prevent him from taking part in the Euros this summer," Andersson said in a statement.
Sweden have decided that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will NOT take part to the Euros. After the announcement of the conservative therapy needed by Zlatan to recover after his knee injury, he’ll be OUT of the Euros. Official. 🇸🇪🚨 #Sweden #Ibrahimovic
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 15, 2021
"It's of course very sad, mostly for Zlatan but also for us. I hope to see him back on the pitch again as soon as possible," he added.
The 39-year-old sustained the knee injury while playing for AC Milan against Juventus, in Serie A, Andersson added.
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Ibrahimovic limped out of Milan's 3-0 win at Juventus last weekend and the Sweden forward had further tests on his injured left knee.
Milan released a statement saying that Ibrahimovic will undergo "a conservative treatment of six weeks" and the Swedish soccer federation announced shortly afterward that the star striker had told the national coach that he would not be fit in time for the tournament.
Idag har Zlatan meddelat Janne Andersson att hans skada stoppar honom från att medverka i EM i sommar.
— Svensk Fotboll (@svenskfotboll) May 15, 2021
Krya på dig Zlatan, vi hoppas att få se dig på fotbollsplanen snart igen! 🇸🇪🦁
"Today, Zlatan has informed Janne Andersson that his injury will stop him from participating in the European Championships this summer," the federation said in a tweet. "Get excited Zlatan, we hope to see you on the football field again soon!" I
Ibrahimovic came out of international retirement in March, five years after his last match for his country. Euro 2020, which was postponed a year because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, kicks off on June 11.
Sweden's first match is against Spain on June 14. It also plays Poland and Slovakia in Group E.
(With Omnisport/Agency inputs)