Lippi hoping for quick Gattuso return

December 11, 2008

Rino Gattuso suffered a cruciate ligament injury during Milans 1-0 win over Catania at the weekend but was unaware and playerd on. The Milan medical staff discovered the injury later and the player has now visited Belgium to see a knee specialist.

Cruciate ligament injuries can take many months to recover from but Lippi believes the midfielder will recover quicker than most.

“If any other player needs a month to get over an injury, Gattuso would be back in two weeks,” he told Sky.

“In this case he’ll be back in four months instead of five.

“He could even be ready for the Confederations Cup (in June).”

Gattuso is not just a vital element for Milan but also for Lippi’s Italy and his absence will be sorely felt.

However, he has made quick recoveries before, such as earlier this season in September when he slipped and fell during training with Italy and broke his wrist.

He underwent an operation and was ruled out for a month of action but within 10 days he was back playing with a protective cast on his wrist.

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.