Man Utd Name Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 24-Man Squad for Champions League Group Stage
Manchester United have named Zlatan Ibrahimovic in their 24-man squad for the Champions League stage ahead of his eagerly awaited return to action after a serious knee injury.
The Champions League has remained elusive in Ibrahimovic's illustrious career and the veteran Swede has been tipped to make his comeback as early as late October - when he will be wearing his newly acquired number 10 shirt.
Marcos Rojo has also been named in the squad, suggesting there is still an outside chance that the versatile Argentine defender might be back from his long-term knee injury before the end of the group stage in early December.
Home-grown striker James Wilson is also something of a surprise inclusion. His career has been plagued by injury setbacks since bursting onto the scene in such spectacular style as an 18-year-old with a brace on his United debut in May 2014.
Clubs are allowed to name a maximum of 25 players in their Champions League squads 'A list'. They are, however, also entitled to use an unlimited 'B list' of young players born on or after 1st January 1996, making them 21 or under at the start of the 2017 calendar year.
For that reason, United have not needed to include star forward Marcus Rashford or third choice goalkeeper Joel Pereira in their formal squad declaration. The likes of emerging talents Scott McTominay, Axel Tuanzebe or Angel Gomes also remain eligible to play in the competition.
Manchester United's 2017-18 Champions League 'A' Squad:
Goalkeepers: David de Gea, Sergio Romero
Defenders: Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo, Chris Smalling, Daley Blind, Luke Shaw, Antonio Valencia, Matteo Darmian
Midfielders: Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Michael Carrick, Ashley Young, Ander Herrera, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Marouane Fellaini, Nemanja Matic
Forwards: Romelu Lukaku, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Anthony Martial, James Wilson
United are returning to the group stage for the first time since 2015 after winning the Europa League last season and will kick off their continental campaign with an opening game against Basel on Tuesday 12th September at Old Trafford.
