Season is over for 3 Empoli stars as fight against relegation gets harder

The Empoli injury crisis just keeps getting worse, as today Christian Kouame, Youssef Maleh and Szymon Zurkowski all had knee surgery.

It is therefore safe to say the season is already over for these three players, who join Pietro Pellegri and Saba Sazonov on the long-term absentee list.

The club had already announced yesterday that Kouame was diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and would require surgery.

Now the Ivory Coast international has gone under the knife at the Villa Stuart clinic in Rome and is expected to be out for six months.

He could therefore return early from his loan experience and go to Fiorentina for rehabilitation.

After Kouame, Empoli lose Maleh and Zurkowski too