Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain has undergone successful surgery on a broken bone in his hand but can expect to miss the high-profile Serie A clash with his former club Napoli.
Higuain, 29, who joined Juve from Napoli for €90 million in July 2016, missed Sunday's victory over Crotone due to the metacarpal break of a middle finger, which on Monday was treated in Turin.
Medical Update on @G_Higuain: https://t.co/XU4azYTKNq pic.twitter.com/bDUjUlVH8C
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) November 27, 2017
A statement published on Juve's official website said the date for the Argentinian's return to contention would be decided in the coming days, but Friday's trip to Naples will surely come too soon.
After visiting the current leaders, Juve host second-placed Inter Milan at Allianz Stadium on December 9 and Higuain's participation in that fixture is in serious doubt.
The scorer of 10 goals in all competitions for the Bianconeri this season will likely sit out the Champions League game at Olympiacos on Tuesday Dec. 5.
"Higuain's very motivated and we'll see if he's available against Napoli, which we hope he will be," Higuain's teammate Miralem Pjanic told Juve's official website. "If he isn't we will do our best to get the three points without him."
General manager Beppe Marotta could not confirm whether he would definitely miss Friday night's return to his former club, adding only: "He's had an operation today, but we can't make any definite predictions."
ESPN FC's Italy correspondent Ben Gladwell contributed to this report