Zlatan Ibrahimovic has promised a change of tone at Milan as he nears a return to action.
Ibrahimovic has not featured this season, having undergone surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament injury shortly after Milan ended an 11-year wait to win the Serie A title in May.
While Milan started respectfully in his absence, they have slipped to sixth in Serie A – 18 points adrift of leaders Napoli – after going five league games without a win.
Milan failed to record a single shot on target in a meek derby defeat to Inter last time out, and their winless run is their worst in Serie A since April 2018.
However, Ibrahimovic believes Milan have overcome more challenging times since he returned for a second spell at the club in 2020, and foresees a return to form.
When I arrived three years ago, people spoke of a situation that was worse than now. In reality, it s not as bad as some people say, Ibrahimovic told the club s media channels.
In one or two years, we did fantastic things, and we re still doing great things.
I call situations like this moments, because it s a moment where there s been a drop and we re struggling, but we need to return to form as quickly as possible.
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It s not as if anybody s happy with our form. We re all working to change things so we can get back to how we were before the World Cup. This season is a bit different, but this isn t an excuse.
Is it a coincidence that this club has won 19 league titles and seven Champions Leagues? Great champions have played here. This is Milan, and Milan needs to win. Coincidences don t exist.
Ibrahimovic handed Milan a huge boost by returning to team training last week, and though it remains to be seen how soon he can return to competitive action, the 41-year-old striker is raring to go.
I m one of many in this team. I haven t been available for a long time and this has been disappointing because when you re a player, you always want to help both on and off the pitch, he said.
Unfortunately, in these first six or seven months, I wasn t able to play. In good times and during difficult moments, you always want to be there because you are one of them.
For me, football is everything. It s where I feel at my peak, where the best of me comes out, and I transform into a different person. When I return, there will be a change in tone.
