Lippi sure Gattuso will make quick recovery

Italy boss Marcelo Lippi said Thursday he believes AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso will make a quick recovery from his cruciate knee ligament injury.

Gattuso hurt his knee on Sunday in Milan’s 1-0 success over Catania but unaware of the damage he had done, he played on.

He was only later diagnosed by Milan’s medical team as having ruptured the cruciate ligament and has since flown to Belgium to see a specialist.

But while such an injury can take months to recover from, Lippi is convinced Gattuso will need less recuperation time than anyone else.

“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.