Zlatan Ibrahimovic available for Galaxy against LAFC

Zlatan Ibrahimovic may get his first taste of Major League Soccer as part of the league’s newest rivalry.

The LA Galaxy have announced Ibrahimovic will be available for selection for the match on Saturday against new local rivals Los Angeles FC. 

The Swedish striker officially joined the LA Galaxy last week after being released from his contract with Manchester United.

The Galaxy played a scoreless draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps in their first game after landing Ibrahimovic, but the striker was unavailable for that contest having yet to train with his new team.

And Ibrahimovic will not get his first training session with the Galaxy until Friday, followed by an introductory press conference.

However, despite the short turnaround, the Galaxy have announced he will be available for the LAFC match the next day.

The Galaxy are coming off their worst season in nearly a decade, missing the playoffs in the 2017 campaign for the first time since 2008. They have begun the 2018 season with one win, one draw and a loss, but face competition from their new rivals as LAFC have opened their debut season with a pair of victories.

The Galaxy are dealing with multiple injuries as both Dos Santos brothers, Giovani and Jonathan, could miss out with hamstring injuries. Romain Alessandrini has missed the last two Galaxy contests, but may be available against LAFC. 

If Ibrahimovic does play in the contest, it will be his first action since going 45 minutes for Manchester United in a 2-2 draw with Burnley in Premier League action on Dec. 26. The star striker missed time after that game due to fitness issues following a relatively speedy recovery from knee surgery.