Vieri: Ibrahimovic will play with a cigarette in his mouth against Inter

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is back after a month absence and Christian Vieri is expecting the striker to give Milan a lift against rivals Inter.

Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be ready to face Inter in this weekend's Derby della Madonnina after recovering from coronavirus, according to Christian Vieri.

Ibrahimovic contracted COVID-19 last month and missed four games before the international break but has been cleared to make his return on Saturday.

The 39-year-old has not played since scoring twice against Bologna on September 21, taking his tally to 14 goals in 22 appearances since returning to San Siro in January.

Despite his lack of minutes over the past month, former Milan and Inter forward Vieri expects Ibrahimovic to be at his best in one of the sport's most iconic fixtures.

Vieri's high praise for Ibrahimovic

"His experience has no equal and encompasses everything," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. 

"His technique, vision of the game, scoring goals, assisting and making his team play better - he raises everyone's level of quality.

"He will have broken the treadmill every day. Someone who says it was a bad idea for coronavirus to challenge him is mentally stronger than everyone.

"He'll play the derby with a cigarette in his mouth, trust me."

Vieri has been equally impressed by the impact Romelu Lukaku has had at Inter since joining from Manchester United ahead of the 2019-20 season.

The Belgium international has scored 26 Serie A goals since the start of the previous campaign - nine more than Inter's next most prolific player Lautaro Martinez.

"He is unstoppable," Vieri said. "A force of nature. You give him 50 metres of field and he will tear you to pieces - the defender never manages to anticipate it.

"And he's even bigger than me! Sometimes I look at him and think 'I'd have done that move, too.'"