Q&A: COLE ON HIS HEALTH, ZLATAN AND LUKAKU

Manchester United legend Andy Cole is excited for Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s return, potentially over the festive period, after meeting his fellow striker at the gym.

As followers of Cole's Instagram account will know, he has been working hard on his health and fitness after undergoing a life-changing kidney transplant surgery in April of this year.
The much-loved Treble winner is occasionally using the facilities at the Aon Training Complex and he recently bumped into Ibra, who is currently completing his own rehabilitation from a serious knee injury.
Cole spoke to MUTV’s Stewart Gardner in Portugal this week to provide an insight into his health and recent meeting with Ibra, as well as the club's current no.9 Romelu Lukaku...
First of all, Andy, you’re looking great - how is your health?
I'm good. Mentally, I am good. I am getting there with hard work and a lot of perseverance. But I knew it was going to be tough, but not as tough as it has been. I have got my head around it now and I'm working as hard as I can do.
You’re regularly posting workout videos on Instagram and it looks like you’re fighting fit…I am working as hard as I can you know, with limitations. My specialist tells me what I can and can't do. It has been a lot harder than I expected, but I am working to what I can do. Hopefully, this time next year, I will be able to do a lot more.
You’ve got a good training partner, too, in Zlatan Ibrahimovic. How is the big man?He is doing very good. I had a chat with Zlatan when he was in the gym the other day. I think he is looking forward to coming back, most probably in December or January time. I think he will definitely bring something to the football team, as we already know. After last season, he was fantastic. It will be nice to see him back when he returns.
Suffering that injury in April and possibly coming back in December… It’s not bad, is it?Yeah, December or January time, of course, it is not bad! But like he keeps saying, he is not human. I love his banter and I think his enthusiasm for the game of football, and what he is around the complex, speaks volumes about him.
We return to Premier League action on Saturday and a week after a draw at Anfield that drew criticism from some quarters. What did you make of that reaction?It's a strange one because, to be brutally honest, there aren't many times when you go to Liverpool and draw 0-0. I can only think back to some of the games we had and we had some proper ding-dongs, when you knew you would get goals. But in the end, in the grand scheme of things, I think 0-0 at Anfield is a good result because you have not lost the game.
Romelu Lukaku scored 11 goals in his first 11 games, but was scrutinised for having a quiet game at Liverpool. Does that show a United striker has to expect such a spotlight?I don't think he will take it on board, to be honest. I think people looked at his record when he was at Everton and West Brom, and that he had never done particularly well against the big teams. He never seemed to get himself a goal or get involved, but I think that will change at United. It was very difficult for him at Liverpool because he didn't have many touches of the ball. But with the way the game went, he was always going to find it difficult and he did do. The flak he got was unwarranted but that is what he has to expect at Manchester United. Without doubt, he will take it in his stride.