Chiellini facing long lay-off after knee injury

Juventus centre-back Giorgio Chiellini was ruled out of Italy's friendly with Austria tomorrow after suffering a knee injury in a 4-1 defeat at Milan in the Berlusconi Trophy on Sunday night.

Chiellini went off on a stretcher in the first half after a collision with Alberto Paloschi and Juve said in a statement he would not join up with Marcello Lippi's Italy squad for the friendly game in Nice. The Turin club later said Chiellini's central defensive partner Nicola Legrottaglie had been called up by Lippi as a replacement.

There have been suggestions that there may be ligament damage and a spell of three to six months on the sidelines, but Juve medical staff said he should be back in 45 to 60 days.

"Fortunately the cruciate ligament is ok and therefore the big danger of missing the entire season has been avoided... a huge weight has been lifted," Chiellini told the club's official website (www.juventus.com) yesterday.

It was a bad night all round for Juve, who had the better early chances before Milan put a woeful pre-season behind them. The home side scored from a swerving effort by Marek Jankulovski, Massimo Ambrosini's header from a Clarence Seedorf cross and a close-range finish from Filippo Inzaghi to go 3-0 up before reserve Cristian Pasquato netted for Juve. Ambrosini grabbed Milan's fourth late on.

Champions Inter face cup holders Roma in the Super Cup at San Siro next Sunday before the Serie A season starts the following weekend.