Man Utd system can support Ibrahimovic and Lukaku

The Old Trafford boss believes his system can let both strikers be on the pitch at the same time, now that the Swede has returned

Jose Mourinho believes that his system can allow for both Romelu Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to be on the pitch at the same time. 

It was confirmed on Friday that the Swede was back after a seven-month injury lay-off and that he could feature against Newcastle on Saturday.

With the Belgian having solidified his spot at as the focal point of Manchester United's attack so far this season, questions have been asked over whether or not Mourinho will rotate his two strikers, but the former Chelsea boss does not see any reason the two can't take the field together.  

"[Ibrahimovic] can play everywhere and, this season, we’ve played with two strikers many times," the boss told a press conference. "We’ve played [with two strikers] so many times, especially when we play with three at the back, with wing-backs, it allows us to bring in a second striker.

"We are ready to do it," he added. "We’ve been preparing ourselves since pre-season – when we started playing three at the back – so they can play together, no problem."

While we may soon see Ibrahimovic and Lukaku on the field together, it won't be from the off in Saturday's contest against Newcastle. 

The 36-year-old may be back in the squad, but his manager isn't ready to run him out in the starting side just yet. 

"As a start, I see him on the bench and it's where I see him," the manager said. "It's where he's going to be tomorrow [Saturday], on the bench."

Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Marcos Rojo are all slated to return to the squad this weekend after long injury lay-offs, with United hoping to close the eight-point gap between them and rivals Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.