Napoli's Milik available to play just 4 months after ACL surgery

Napoli forward Arkadiusz Milik continues to defy the odds during his rapid recovery from a torn ACL.

Less than four months after undergoing surgery to repair the ligaments in his knee, Milik is available to play Saturday after being named to Napoli’s 23-man squad ahead of Saturday’s encounter with Bologna.

Milik suffered the injury while on international duty with Poland in October and was initially expected to miss seven months.

Yet, from the the start, the 27-year-old defied conventional wisdom during his recovery effort. The first major hurdle was cleared a month after undergoing the operation when Milik was told he could begin running.

He was then given the green light to return to first-team shortly after the New Year.

Manager Maurizio Sarri took a cautious approach before finally including him in the team set to face Bologna.

Before suffering the injury, Milik, who signed with the Serie A outfit from Ajax last summer, found the back of the net seven times in all competitions during his opening nine matches in a Napoli strip.