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ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC

Sweden without star Ibrahimovic for Brazil friendly

A lingering knee injury will leave Sweden without its star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic when the squad meets Brazil for a football friendly in London on Wednesday, the Swedish Football Association said.

Sweden without star Ibrahimovic for Brazil friendly

“We agreed that he’s better off taking the time for rehab and resting his knee. He’s played on painkillers for several matches now,” coach Lars Lagerbäck said in a statement.

Ibrahimovic, who plays for Inter Milan, was diagnosed with a knee tendon injury in February.

The Swedish side will also be without Wigan Athletic’s defender Erik Edman, who suffered a nasty knee injury in a Premier League match against Blackburn on Saturday.

The Swedish FA said Edman tore the ligaments in his left knee and is expected to be out of action for around six months.

Sunderland striker Rade Prica will replace Ibrahimovic and Mikael Dorsin will replace Edman, the FA said.

The Brazil clash at Emirates Stadium is part of Sweden’s Euro 2008 preparations, and is the last match before Lagerbäck announces his selection on May 13th.

“We’ll be playing against one of the best teams in the world. It’ll be a good test for us to play a team that in terms of offence and passing is as good as Spain, who we’ll be playing against in the European championships,” Lagerbäck said.

The Sweden-Brazil face-off also marks the 50th anniversary of the 1958 World Cup final between the two teams, one of Sweden’s most illustrious showings in the sport despite its 5-2 loss.

Lagerbäck will be coaching a largely experienced side, apart from two players who have made their debuts this year, Sebastian Larsson and Fredrik Stoor.

Fredrik Risp, who last played for the national squad in 2005, will also make his comeback after struggling through injuries for several seasons.

Others on Wednesday’s roster include goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson, defenders Olof Mellberg and Mikael Nilsson, and midfielders Kim Källström, Marcus Allbäck, Christian Wilhelmsson and Fredrik Ljungberg.

FOOTBALL

Zlatan statue loses nose in latest Malmö vandalism

The statue of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in Malmö has suffered its latest damage in a string of attacks by vandals.

Zlatan statue loses nose in latest Malmö vandalism
Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT

During Saturday night or in the early hours of Sunday, the nose was sawed off the Zlatan statue and the effigy was also covered in silver paint, media including SVT report.

Since being unveiled in the presence of the world-famous footballer in October, the statue has been damaged on several occasions.

At the end of November, Zlatan announced his investment in rival team Hammarby, angering many fans of his hometown club Malmö FF.

READ ALSO: How Malmö fell out of love with Zlatan Ibrahimovic

December has already seen paint poured over the statue and a foot sawn off, with this weekend’s incident adding to the list of crunching tackles against the Zlatan statue.

Police said on Sunday they would investigate the latest instance of vandalism.

“We have not received any reports but have been informed that damage has been seen by the public. We will go out there and make observations this morning,” Katarina Rusin, a press spokesperson for the police in the southern Sweden region, told SVT.

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