AC Milan forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been suspended for three Serie A games for hitting an opponent, ruling him out of a key game against Italian league leader Juventus.

In the 64th minute of Milan's 0-0 draw with Napoli on Sunday, Ibrahimovic was ejected for slapping his right hand on the side of defender Salvatore Aronica's face.

Ibrahimovic will miss a difficult game at Udinese next weekend, a game at Cesena the following weekend and the match with Juventus on Feb. 25.

Milan trails Juventus by one point but has played one more game.

Ibrahimovic has 15 Serie A goals this season, one behind league leader Antonio Di Natale of Udinese.

Last season, Ibrahimovic was suspended for five games because of disciplinary incidents.