Zlatan Ibrahimovic eager to play alongside Giovani dos Santos with LA Galaxy

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is optimistic that he will finally be able to play alongside his teammate Giovani dos Santos when the LA Galaxy take on Atlanta United on Saturday.

The two have yet to play an MLS match together since Ibrahimovic's debut on March 31, as Dos Santos has not seen action since the beginning of March when he suffered a leg injury during the second match of the season.

But Ibrahimovic told ESPN that he liked what he has seen from the Mexico international.

"I have seen him play before, he is great with his left foot," Ibrahimovic said before training on Thursday. "He is great with the ball, he can trick his opponents and he brings extra quality to our team. He creates a lot of opportunities with the ball and he makes the game exciting.

"I am only waiting for him to recover from his injury and with a little luck, he will be ready this Saturday."

LA Galaxy manager Sigi Schmid said the coaching staff will evaluate Dos Santos' health and make a decision.

"This has been a solid week of training and I know that today [Thursday] he underwent some tests, so we will make a decision after this practice," Schmid said.

Dos Santos has missed four matches since the start of the season and the injury also prevented him from being called up to Mexico for friendlies in March.

"You never want to be injured, but I have had to remain strong this month," Dos Santos said. "I have worked hard to get back in shape. I feel very good and I hope to play some part in the next match."

Ibrahimovic also said he hopes to continue to improve his own form, after scoring three goals in as many MLS games.

"The team is improving, we are creating scoring opportunities, although we should have more goals than we do right now," he said. "Little by little, we are moving in the right direction.

"I am feeling better [about playing a full 90 minutes]. It has been a long time since I played this many minutes, but slowly I am getting my touch, my timing and my game memory back. I just need more minutes and more games."