Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has left the door open for Zlatan Ibrahimovic to make a dramatic return to Old Trafford.

Zlatan, who was leading goal scorer for Red Devils with 28, was ruled out of rest of the season when he ruptured the cruciate ligament in his right knee in the Europa League quarter-final against Anderlecht in April.

United did not offer the Swedish star a new contract but have allowed him to continue his rehabilitation at Carrington beyond the end of his old deal which ran out on June 30.

The club signed Romelu Lukaku for £75million from Everton as a direct replacement in the knowledge that Ibrahimovic will not be fit again until the end of the year when he will be 36.

The striker is also being linked with a move to LA Galaxy, United's first opponents on their tour of the US at the StubHub Center in the early hours of Sunday morning, after promising a major announcement.

However, Mourinho refused to rule out re-signing Ibrahimovic as a free agent if the deal suits both parties.

'It's possible,' said the United boss as he faced the media for the first time in LA. 'It's open. Of course, we wanted to be honest and open for him to make a decision in case his desire was to leave, DailyMail quoted Mourinho.

'There was not a new contract, but there was a space of time for everybody to think, feel and decide, he added.

'From his point of view, he made the decision of wanting to play football still at the highest level. He didn't want to hide behind such an amazing injury. It would be easy to hide behind it and stop and go to a different level of football. He did not want that.

'He made the challenge for himself to keep playing at the highest level.