Former AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato hopes Zlatan Ibrahimovic can play on next season.

The 40 year-old is again sidelined due to injury, which has sparked talk of retirement for the centre-forward.

But Pato told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "He is essential because he has fire inside.

"He motivates his teammates and everyone is afraid of him, only (Oguchi) Onyewu in that Milan, he had challenged him.

"But the answers now must be given to him by his body."