Gianluigi Buffon needs knee surgery in the coming months, the Italy and Juventus goalkeeper said on Sunday.

"My knee is wrecked. I need an operation. I'll carry on as long as I can," Buffon told reporters as Italy arrived back in the country following their 2-2 draw in Ireland on Saturday which secured their place at next year's World Cup.

The 31-year-old, back to his best form after a year of injury niggles, said he would try to put off the operation until after Juve's Serie A game with champions Inter Milan in early December.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.