Buffon faces knee op

Veteran Italian international Gianluigi Buffon is planning to have a knee operation in December, if he can keep going till then, La Gazzetta dello Sport reported Monday.

The 31-year-old goalkeeper would be out for more than a month.

“He will be operated on during the Christmas break from the league and as the recovery time for an exterior meniscus operation is 30 to 40 days, he should be back playing in early February,” the daily said.

The Juventus star told the paper: “If I make certain movements I feel some pain, but I’m trying to keep going as long as possible because there’s the Champions league underway and we meet Inter (Milan) in early December.

“We’ll see if I get through, I would like to.”

With Italy already qualified for the 2010 World Cup, coach Marcello Lippi has decided not to play Buffon in Wednesday’s final group tie against Cyprus.