Bonaventura out for up to nine months

Giacomo Bonaventura will be sidelined for up to nine months following an operation on his knee, AC Milan have confirmed.

The Italian midfielder has surgery on an osteochondral lesion to his left knee in the US on Tuesday, and Milan have released a statement stating they do not expect him to play soon. 

“AC Milan announces that Giacomo Bonaventura underwent surgery on the osteochondral lesion of his left knee," the club said on their website. 

“Today's cartilage repair procedure, carried out in Pittsburgh by the surgeons Volker Musahl and Freddie Fu in the presence of the AC Milan medical staff, was successful and the recovery time is estimated in 8/9 months.”