AC Milan moved top of Serie A by beating Salernitana - and paid tribute to injured defender Simon Kjaer, who is not expected to play again this season.

Franck Kessie put Milan ahead after five minutes with a low shot after a fine run from Rafael Leao, before Alexis Saelemaekers curled in a second.

After Saelemaekers' goal, he ran to the bench and held up Kjaer's shirt.

Kjaer, who helped save Denmark team-mate Christian Eriksen's life in the summer, has suffered a knee injury.

He was injured after four minutes of Milan's 3-0 win over Genoa on Wednesday and is expected to be out for at least six months.

A statement from Milan on Friday said: "Simon Kjaer underwent arthroscopic surgery today to reconstruct the anterior cruciate ligament and reinsert the medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

"The operation, which was carried out at the Casa di Cura La Madonnina clinic, was a perfect success."

On Monday, Kjaer, 32, attended the Ballon d'Or ceremony, where he was named the 18th best player of 2021 and received a round of applause and praise from host Didier Drogba.

During Denmark's match against Finland in the summer's Euro 2020, Eriksen, 29, suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch with Kjaer starting the CPR process that helped save his team-mate's life.

Milan's win takes them above Napoli, who will return to the top if they beat Atalanta at home in the evening game (19:45 GMT).

Milan have been Italian champions 18 times but not since 2010-11 and this victory means they have won 12 of 16 league games this season.