Man Utd Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic Set to Return to Full First-Team Training by the End of October

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is set to return to full first-team training by the end of this month, according to The Sun.

The Manchester United forward has been out since April after suffering a knee injury in the Europa League victory over Anderlecht.

After undergoing surgery, Ibrahimovic was expected to be out until the New Year, but he has made an extraordinarily quick recovery.

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The enigmatic Swede has been doing some light training at United's Carrington training ground, running and shooting as he looks to regain full fitness.

His physical condition is believed to be around 80 percent, and there is hope that he will be back training with the first-team by late October.

Manager Jose Mourinho has repeatedly played down the possibility of an imminent return for Ibrahimovic, although the 35-year-old was included in the club's Champions League squad.

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Ahead of his side's 4-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday, Mourinho admitted that Romelu Lukaku will not be given an opportunity to rest without Ibrahimovic available.

"Without Zlatan we cannot rotate the striker, especially because Marcus Rashford is playing also in other positions," the Portuguese coach said, quoted by ESPN.

"So until the moment we have Zlatan we cannot think about giving rest to our No. 9, the same way we give in other positions. We cannot do that."

Ibrahimovic's inclusion in the Champions League squad suggests that he could be fit for selection for the latter stages of the group, with the final game against CSKA Moscow coming in December.