Gianluigi Buffon has undergone back surgery
11 April 2012
Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is set to be sidelined for three months after undergoing back surgery.
Buffon sustained a herniated disc while on international duty with Italy at the World Cup.
The veteran keeper went under the knife yesterday in Turin to repair the damage.
"I think between six and eight weeks will be needed for Buffon to begin rehabilitation and at least three months for him to return to playing," said Maurizio Fornari, head of neurosurgery at the Galeazzi orthopaedic institute in Milan, who led the operation.
"The surgery went very well and was needed to take the hernia in a less invasive manner in order to free the nerve that was suffering."
Buffon, 32, is likely to miss the first month of the Serie A season.
