Blanc cools fears over Ibrahimovic injury

Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc maintains he is not concerned over the fitness of Zlatan Ibrahimovic despite his star striker playing against Malmo while carrying an injury.

The Sweden captain suffered an abdominal problem while on international duty and was rested for the 2-2 draw with Bordeaux last week before returning to action against former club Malmo in midweek.

Ibrahimovic spoke of his need for regular matches after Tuesday’s win in Sweden, with Blanc stating the 33-year-old could feature against Reims this weekend.

“I’m not worried, yes he can play,” Blanc told reporters.

“In the mixed zone he said that he is not at his best and he needs to string together matches. He had a very good preparation but it was cut short by injury.

“This is top-level football, and he is of a certain age. Where is your concern? The injury or the fact that he took a few games to find his best?

“We are involved in its management. I hope that PSG will have many games to play and I hope he can play in a lot of them.

“The injury is part of football. There is concern because of his age but injuries like that happen to all players. And he must string together games, it’s normal, especially with his size.

“The injection was just an anti-inflammatory, his injury is not serious, but because it’s Zlatan you care.”