Napoli defender Kevin Malcuit has undergone surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament he damaged in Sunday's Serie A game against SPAL.

Malcuit left the pitch in tears after seriously injuring his right knee in the second half of the 1-1 draw at Stadio Paolo Mazza.

Scans confirmed the worst for the 28-year-old, who could now miss the rest of the season.

Napoli described the surgery as "perfectly successful" but Carlo Ancelotti will be forced to turn to a third right-back as first-choice Elseid Hysaj continues his recovery from a fractured sternum.

The left-sided Faouzi Ghoulam looked to be a stop-gap solution until he suffered a muscle problem in training earlier this week.

Napoli are back in action at home to Atalanta on Wednesday, ahead of a weekend trip to Roma.