Injured Buffon needs surgery Tuesday 16 August, 2005
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Gianluigi Buffon will have to undergo surgery for a shoulder injury and won’t be back in action for at least three months, confirmed Juventus today.
The goalkeeper suffered the setback when he challenged Kaka during the 2-1 Trofeo Berlusconi defeat at the San Siro on Sunday evening.
Tests have shown the injury to be worse than previously thought and he will have to go under the knife in order to heal properly.
"Today Buffon completed the specialist tests on his right shoulder and it was decided that keyhole surgery was needed to repair the damage suffered during Sunday’s match against Milan," read a statement on the Bianconeri website.
"The operation will be performed by Professors Flavio Quaglia, Riccardo Minola and Roberto Ravera on Wednesday August 17.
"The final prognosis will be revealed after the surgery, but we can already predict a three-month absence from the playing field."
This is a bitter blow for Juventus, who must now find a replacement goalkeeper who can give the kind of guarantees that current No 2 Antonio Chimenti does not.
It is also a serious setback for Italy Coach Marcello Lippi, who finds himself with relatively inexperienced goalkeepers Morgan De Sanctis, Flavio Roma and Matteo Guardalben.
channel4.com.
FFS
