Inter captain Javier Zanetti had a successful operation for his ruptured Achilles tendon yesterday and will be out of action for about six months, his doctor said.

The 39-year-old remained unflappable throughout, surgeon Franco Benazzo said.

“The operation was a success, it lasted around an hour,” said Benazzo. “He’ll have his foot in a cast for the next three weeks and won’t be able to walk on it, then he will start to walk in phase two of his physiotherapy. As ever in cases like these, we’re looking at six months out.”