New Delhi, Sep 4 (IANS): Juventus defender and captain Giorgio Chiellini has undergone a knee surgery and is expected to remain out of the field for the next six months.

Chiellini has suffered from an injury in his right knee at a training session last Friday. He was subsequently withdrawn from the Italy squad, with Lazio centre-back Francesco Acerbi taking his place for their upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Armenia and Finland, reports goal.com.

"This afternoon, Giorgio Chiellini underwent surgery to reconstruct the anterior cruciate ligament of the right knee," Juventus FC said in a media statement on Tuesday.

"The intervention, performed at the Hochrum clinic in Innsbruck by Professor Christian Fink in the presence of the Juventus Club Doctor, Dr. Tzouroudis, was perfectly successful."

"The expected recovery time is around six months."

If all goes according to plan then the 35-year-old is likely to return in March, meaning he could be fit for the Champions League quarter-finals should Juventus reach that stage.

He has made 384 league appearances since joining Juventus from Roma in 2005.