AC Milan may take advantage of the mid-season trading window to find a temporary replacement for Italy midfielder Gennaro (Rino) Gattuso, the Serie A club's general manager said on Wednesday.
''It's not simple. We're weighing our options and seeing what we can do,'' Adriano Galliani told the press after visiting here with the club's owner and chairman, Premier Silvio Berlusconi.
Gattuso had a knee operation Monday that is expected to keep him out of action for about six months.
He was operated on by the world-famous Antwerp-based knee surgeon Marc Martens, who repaired cruciate ligaments in the player's right knee.
Gattuso, 30, has vowed to make one of his famously speedy recoveries but experts say the injury appears to have ended his Serie A season.
The midfielder tore his ligaments in the fourth minute of Milan's home game against Catania on December 7.
He carried the injury through the match, which Milan won 1-0.
According to experts quoted in the Italian media, he was only able to do so because his unusual muscle strength held the knee up.
The injury looks set to deprive Italy coach Marcello Lippi of one of his favourite players for Italy's next two World Cup qualifiers: a trip to Montenegro in March and a visit by Ireland the following month.
