Manchester City will be without Manuel Akanji for at least eight weeks as the defender will undergo hip surgery.
The Switzerland international was forced off during City’s 3-2 defeat at home to Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Akanji will now miss at least eight weeks, which means the defender will be absent for a minimum of eight Premier League games, including the upcoming fixture against Newcastle United on Saturday, as well as match at home to Liverpool on February 23.
Akanji will also be unavailable for City’s second leg against Madrid next week, as well as their FA Cup tie against Plymouth on March 1.
‘I think it is the abductor,’ Guardiola said at his press conference on Friday.
‘[He will undergo] surgery on Saturday, [and will be] 8-10 weeks out.’
Meanwhile, Jack Grealish is a major injury doubt for the game against Newcastle after being forced off against Madrid.
‘It’s not as apparent right now as tough as Manu has done,’ said Guardiola.
‘But I don’t know if he’ll be ready tomorrow. We will see and assess in the next hours.’
Elsewhere, Nico Gonzalez was left on the bench for City’s loss to Madrid this week but their £50m January signing from Porto could start against Newcastle this weekend.
‘It’s not a difficult start, he was injured,’ Guardiola said.
‘Difficult start is if he played bad but that’s not the case. He arrived with a little pain especially against Madrid he was not fully fit, but day by day he is getting better.
‘Like I said before with Jack we’ll assess in the next few hours.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
