Milan will be without Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko until mid-October at the earliest.
Shevchenko injured his left knee in Milan’s Champions League qualifier against Slovan Liberec last week. He underwent surgery in Antwerp yesterday.
Milan officials expect Shevchenko to miss at least six rounds of the new Serie A season – assuming it starts on September 1 as planned – as well as the first four rounds of the ChampionsLeague group phase, assuming they qualify.
A Milan spokesman said: “The operation went well. We hope Andriy will soon be undergoing physiotherapy and can then start gentle training after around three weeks. There was no point in delaying the operation.”
Neighbours Inter will be without Sierra Leone striker Mohamed Kallon for six week after he tore a muscle in training at the weekend.