The striker enjoyed an impressive first season at Old Trafford following his free transfer from Paris Saint - Germain in July 2016, only for it to be cut short by cruciate knee ligament damage sustained in a Europa League quarter - final victory over Anderlecht in April.
Both Ibrahimovic and defender Marcos Rojo , who suffered a similar injury in the same match, have now fully recovered from their injuries and could play a key role as United host Brighton in the Premier League this weekend .
Former Sweden international Ibrahimovic , 36 , has appeared as a substitute in each of United ’ s past two matches , coming on as Newcastle were beaten 4 - 1 at Old Trafford last Saturday , and again on Wednesday in a 1 - 0 Champions League defeat by Basel in Switzerland .
Rojo made his comeback by featuring at centre - back against Basel and is likely to be asked to play there again on Saturday as Phil Jones has a thigh injury and fellow defender Eric Bailly is struggling to recover from a knock .
“ I think Marcos could have been playing a couple of weeks ago , ” said United manager Mourinho . “ We didn ’ t need to rush him, push him into that situation , but he has been training with the team for quite a long time .
“ We need him with no Jones . We need Marcos back to give us the stability . ”
Despite those defensive concerns , Mourinho is close to having a full - strength squad for the first time in months , with Paul Pogba feeling his way back to full fitness following a serious hamstring problem.
The France midfielder scored on his comeback against Newcastle after two months out of action , but faded after a good start against Basel .
With a glut of fixtures coming up , Mourinho made seven changes to his starting line- up in Switzerland , with only Pogba , Anthony Martial , Chris Smalling and Romelu Lukaku remaining from the team that started against Newcastle .
More changes are certain this weekend as the manager attempts to keep his players fresh .
Brighton manager Chris Hughton is expecting the United side to be rejigged and is not ruling out Mourinho ’ s men for the title , even though they are eight points adrift of Manchester City.
“ Without being detrimental to the other teams in the top six , most people see the two Manchester teams as the strongest , ” he said. “ Both have recruited very well and have big star players .
“ Ibrahimovic and certainly Pogba are a massive boost for them to have back at this stage of the season. They are both big teams and are showing that . ”
The Seagulls are unbeaten in five matches and Hughton wants his players to show self - belief.
“ You can’ t go there with fear because if you do , it is inevitable what will happen , ” he said. “ You have to go there with a belief and a confidence that you can get something . ”
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