Jose Mourinho says 'I don't care' when Zlatan Ibrahimovic returns as he expresses sadness over 'really big' injury

Mourinho feels sorry for Ibrahimovic and Marcos Rojo after they suffered serious knee injuries

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not expected to play again until 2018 (Getty)

Jose Mourinho insisted “I don’t care” whether Zlatan Ibrahimovic plays again or not after revealing his sadness for the injured Manchester United striker, who faces up to nine months on the sidelines and may have played his final match for the Premier League club.

Ibrahimovic suffered a suspected ruptured cruciate ligament in his right knee after landing awkwardly during United’s Europa League victory over Anderlecht last Thursday, with the initial prognosis ruling the striker out until January.

With Ibrahimovic out of contract at the end of the season and yet to agree to a one-year extension clause, doubts have surfaced over not only his future at Old Trafford, but whether he will play again should he recover as he will be 36 years old once he returns.

However, Mourinho insisted that talk of his future and the impact that his absence will have on the team is not important because he is “really sad” that the Swede has suffered such a serious injury, along with the cruciate ligament injury that has also ruled out defender Marcos Rojo for the rest of the season.

“It’s a big blow but we are really sad for them, not for us as a team because they are much more important than us and their injuries are really big,” a sympathetic Mourinho said ahead of United’s Premier League clash with Burnley on Sunday.

“No player deserves to be injured but I think in this case it’s even more sad because Zlatan, in this stage of his career it’s really, really hard, and Marcos probably at this moment in his career is playing very well for us and also finally getting a position as central defender in the international team, so we’re really sad for them.”

Asked if he could confirm how long Ibrahimovic will be sidelined for, Mourinho said: “Yeah I know but I think it’s for the medical department to be more specific and to evaluate over the next few days to see an expert’s opinion and we have to wait and see for that.

“I don’t care about it in this moment, I just want the player [Ibrahimovic] to recover the best he can and we’ll see about it. Honestly, I’m not sad for the team, I’m not worried about the impact that not to have them [will cause].

“I don’t care about it, I just think about them, and like everybody I’m really sad.”