Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is set to be sidelined for three months after undergoing back surgery.

Buffon sustained a herniated disc while on international duty at the World Cup.

The veteran keeper went under the knife yesterday in Turin to repair the damage.

"I think between six and eight weeks will be needed for Buffon to begin rehabilitation and at least three months for him to return to playing," said Maurizio Fornari, head of neurosurgery at the Galeazzi orthopaedic institute in Milan, who led the operation.

"The surgery went very well and was needed to take the hernia in a less invasive manner in order to free the nerve that was suffering."

Buffon, 32, is likely to miss the first month of the Serie A season.

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.