Barring any setback, the Swedish striker will play around 45 minutes against United.
For those wanting to get a glimpse of Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the pitch in a Paris Saint-Germain shirt, it appears the wait won't be much longer.On a conference call Tuesday, PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti said that if all goes according to plan, the Swedish striker will make his debut on Saturday in a friendly against D.C. United at RFK Stadium.
"For the game on Saturday we have to check his physical condition, and if there are no problems, maybe he can play 40 or 45 minutes," Ancelotti said.
PSG is currently training at Princeton University in New Jersey before it is scheduled to travel south to Washington D.C. on Friday. Ancelotti confirmed Ibrahimovic has joined up with the team and is set to participate in training.
The French side is coming off a 1-1 draw against Chelsea in a friendly at the new Yankee Stadium on Sunday.
“It will be important for us to show improvement after the game against Chelsea,” Ancelotti said. “I think that United has some very good players....so it will be a very important test.”
Expectations will be sky-high for PSG entering the 2012-13 campaign, after an offseason which included the signings of highly-promising youngster Marco Verratti from Pescara, Napoli striker Ezequiel Lavezzi, and the stunning double-capture of Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva from AC Milan.
“We want to be competitive in Europe and we want to win the league in France,” Ancelotti said.
Despite the seemingly limitless bankroll of the club's Qatari ownership, Ancelotti said that the club would be making no further purchases during the summer transfer window.
“We have signed fantastic players and our market for this season is closed,” he said.
PSG and D.C. United kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night. Following the match, PSG will travel back to France to face Barcelona in an Aug. 4 friendly before kicking off the Ligue 1 season at home against Lorient on Aug. 11.
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