Buffon has herniated disc

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has suffered a recurrence of a herniated disc, it was revealed yesterday, with the injury looking virtually certain to end his World Cup hopes.

Buffon was forced out of the defending champions' opening Group F match against Paraguay on Monday at half-time and he was initially diagnosed on Tuesday with a sciatic problem.

Yesterday, team doctor Enrico Castellacci refused to speculate on how much time Buffon would need to recover, but insisted that the player will be staying with the team in South Africa.

However, what was clear was that Buffon may not play again during the tournament.

"We're not talking about a time period, it's obvious it won't be short, it's difficult in this time to put a definite period on the recovery," said Castellacci.

"It's not a new problem, it's a little recurrence of a problem he's had in the past. He's an important player for the group but he's staying with us so we can try to get him back, not just to lend moral support.

"It's a small disc which is a positive thing, but it's not just about recovering from the pain, we're talking about an athletic recovery."