Napoli left back Ghoulam suffers serious knee injury

MILAN (Reuters) - Napoli left back Faouzi Ghoulam is facing a long layoff after the club confirmed on Thursday that he had suffered a serious knee injury. Ghoulam, regarded by the club as one of the best players in Europe in his position and ever-present in the league this season, limped off after half an hour of Wednesday's Champions League match at home to Manchester City.

(Reuters)

Napoli confirmed in a statement that the Algeria international had sustained a "total rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee" and would undergo surgery on Friday.Napoli lead Serie A, having dropped only two points from their first 11 games, but Ghoulam's injury is a serious blow to their title chances as their squad is regarded as lacking strength in depth.The Algeria international has scored twice this season, his first goals for the club.Algeria have failed to qualify for next year's World Cup.

(Reporting by Brian Homewood; Editing by Toby Davis)