AC MILAN’S ANTONIO Cassano is set to have minor heart surgery in the coming days, after suffering a suspected stroke on Sunday.

The player, who has made nine appearances for Milan this season, is likely to be out of action for the foreseeable future.

A statement from the Milan website read as follows:

“Antonio Cassano has experienced an ischemic cerebral damage based. The cause was identified in the presence of a patent foramen ovale septal heart. The clinical conditions are good.

“The player will undergo in the coming days a small surgical interventional cardiology (closure of the foramen ovale), the recovery time for return to racing will be better defined after the surgery, but probably will be a few months.”

Meanwhile, Diego Maradona has written a letter of support to Cassano, which has been published in Corriere dello Sport:

“I know about the thoughts, worries and torments that are going through your mind. I know that feeling of confusion and, why not, even solitude, that makes everything suddenly look black.”

The player burst onto the Italian football scene as a 17-year-old for Bari, and his career has since encompassed periods at Roma, Real Madrid and Sampdoria.

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