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Football London
Football London
Sport
Sam Hill

Why Zlatan Ibrahimovic cannot play for AC Milan against Tottenham in Champions League clash

Tottenham Hotspur will face AC Milan in their Champions League round of 16 second leg on Wednesday, March 8. Spurs will head into the game looking to overturn a 1-0 deficit after a difficult first leg at the San Siro.

Tottenham were left without Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma for their trip to Italy leaving Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr to fill the void in midfield. The youngsters performed well and Spurs will have Hojbjerg to call upon once again for the second leg.

Antonio Conte has not yet returned to the dugout leaving Cristian Stellini to take charge of the team in his absence. Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leao remain the main attacking threat for Milan who will hope to keep hold of their first leg advantage when they head to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Spurs will be thankful to avoid coming up against Zlatan Ibrahimovic despite his recovery from injury.

READ MORE: Tottenham player ratings vs Chelsea: Romero and Skipp dazzle, Kane scores and Dier impresses

Ibrahimovic made his first appearance of 2022/23 campaign last night after making a return from a long-term injury. After Milan's 2-0 win against Atalanta, the Swedish striker said: “I suffered a lot but I’m back, I feel very good now.

"I’m not here to play five or six minutes, I want to play the whole game," he added.

After missing most of the season so far, Ibrahimovic was left out of AC Milan's Champions League squad for the remainder of the tournament with a tough round of 16 tie against Spurs, which is why he is ineligible for the second leg in north London on March 8.

Despite the veteran striker's absence from the squad, Milan still have the players capable of causing Spurs some problems at the back, with Eric Dier set to miss the second leg after picking up a booking at the San Siro - meaning he is suspended for the return clash.

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