22-year-old Napoli striker Arkadiusz Milik has suffered damage to his ACL while on international duty and will need surgery forcing him to miss several months, according to the Poland national team.
Milik had set up Poland’s second goal in a 3-2 win over Denmark in World Cup qualifying by drawing a penalty, but he was forced off at halftime, replaced by Sampdoria midfielder Karol Linetty. After the game, Poland’s press officer Jakub Kwiatkowski posted on Twitter that Milik had suffered the serious injury.
“Arek Milik has undergone tests on his injured knee, which have shown damage to the anterior cruciate ligament,” Kwiatkowski said across a pair of tweets. “Arek will return to Napoli on Sunday. He is likely to have to undergo surgery and could be out for several months.”
Napoli has not yet released its version of the injury, simply saying Sunday that Milik has returned to the club and will continue to undergo tests.
The injury brings Milik’s solid form to a screeching halt. The Polish striker had a pair of braces so far through seven Serie A matches for Napoli, and had also scored three goals across the club’s two Champions League matches thus far. Napoli is second in the Serie A table with 14 points, just suffering its first loss of the year before the international break to Atalanta. The club is also tops in Champions League Group B with two wins in two.
Milik only joined Napoli this past summer in a $36 million transfer from Dutch giants Ajax. Milik spent his youth years in Poland but got his first true chance with Bayer Leverkusen in 2013, and then broke out while on loan at Ajex in 2014. Milik has 32 international caps for Poland, with 11 goals to his name.
