AC Milan's veteran central defender Alessandro Nesta is expected to be back in action next month after undergoing surgery on his injured right knee on Monday.
The club's forecast that 33-year-old Nesta would have recovered from the operation in around "30 days" is encouraging news after initial forecasts that the 2006 World Cup winner might miss the rest of the season.
The diagnosis was also welcome coming less than 24 hours after David Beckham's ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in AC Milan's 1-0 win against Chievo on Sunday evening.
Beckham is in Finland for surgery on the injury which looks to have dashed his dream of making England's 2010 World Cup squad.
AC Milan are lying second in Serie A, one point behind champions Inter Milan.
Copyright 2010 AFP Global Edition
