Barcelona: Zlatan Ibrahimovic will not make his Barcelona debut on the tour of the United States and may not play until late August after undergoing surgery on his broken hand.
The Swede arrived at Camp Nou in a blaze of glory on Monday with 60,000 supporters attending his presentation, but they will have to wait some time to see him make his debut.
During his medical, Barcelona's doctors examined the injury that he sustained while playing in a friendly for Inter against Chelsea recently, and decided a small operation was needed, according to Sport.
“We took a good look at his broken hand and it’s a break at the base of the second metacarpal on his left hand," Doctor Ricard Pruna was quoted as saying by the Blaugrana's official website.
"We’ll have to try and fix it so he can be back to playing as soon as possible."
Though the procedure was carried out on Tuesday morning, the player will not recover in time to play in the United States, but he will travel with them when the squad leaves on Wednesday.
Ibrahimovic's debut could be against Manchester City in the Trofeu Joan Gamper on August 19, or could even be put back to August 23, when Barca play Athletic Club in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup.
Goal.com
First Published: Tuesday, July 28, 2009, 18:36