Daniel Dal Zennaro/ANSA, via European Pressphoto Agency

A week after Filippo Inzaghi scored twice in the Champions League against Real Madrid, setting three career scoring records, his season is over and his career in jeopardy. Inzaghi, a 37-year-old A.C. Milan forward, hurt his anterior cruciate ligament and damaged the meniscus in his left knee in his team’s 3-1 victory over Palermo on Wednesday.

“Filippo Inzaghi underwent an M.R.I. today that showed a lesion to his anterior cruciate ligament associated to the external meniscus of his left knee,” the club said in a statement Thursday. “The player will need surgery.”

Milan’s Web site declared despair that the club’s career scoring leader would be lost for the season and optimism that he would return.

Inzhagi, who overtook Marco Van Basten as Milan’s leading career goal scorer, signed a deal in May to keep him at the club through 2011. But there were reports that he wanted to leave in January because of his lack of playing time.

“I still want to be important,” Inzaghi told the Italian TV station, Rete 4. “I have received two offers and I am happy that someone is still looking at me.

“I don’t want to be employed only in moments of despair, but let’s see in two months. I have an incredible affection for Milan but I still really want to play and I feel good.”

Super Pippo has regularly provided Milan with a scoring boost off the bench in recent years, and the cub’s executive, Adriano Galliani, was loath to see him go.

“I have told Pippo that after the contract renewal there is no chance I am letting him leave,” Galliani said. “At great teams, even champions have to stay on the bench.”

In addition to eclipsing Van Basten’s career scoring mark with 125 goals, Inzhagi eclipsed his former teammate Andriy Schevchenko as Milan’s leading scorer in Europe with 40 goals and became the career leading scoring in European competition with 70 goals, surpassing the Real Madrid great Raul and the Bayern Munich legend Gerd Muller.