Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji will undergo surgery after sustaining an abductor injury.
The 29-year-old was handed a start at right-back in the Citizens' painful 3-2 home defeat to Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League playoff tie on Tuesday.
Just before half time, Akanji appeared to tweak his abductor when blocking a cross from Vinicius Junior inside the penalty area.
The Switzerland international was visibly in discomfort as he limped his way through the final few minutes of the first half before being replaced by Rico Lewis at half time.
Guardiola was unable to give a definitive update on Akanji's fitness during his post-match press conference, but he suggested that the defender may not recover in time for next week's second leg with Real Madrid.
Reports emerged on Thursday claiming that Akanji will miss Man City's next three matches, including Premier League showdowns with Newcastle United and Liverpool, but Guardiola has now confirmed the defender is facing a longer spell on the sidelines.
Akanji ruled out for at least two months with abductor injury
Speaking about Akanji at a press conference on Friday ahead of Man City's home clash with Newcastle on Saturday, Guardiola said: "Surgery on Saturday. Eight to 10 weeks out. His abductor is broken.
"We wish the best recovery for Manu, speedy, because the effort that he has done this season has been unbelievable.
"Him and Nathan [Ake] have played in difficult conditions; not being in top [shape], and to help the team in the emergency position that we had with a lack of players in the centre-back position. In the end, the body said 'enough is enough'."
What Man City games will Akanji miss through injury?
Akanji is now facing a race against time to recover before the end of the season as he is not expected to return before early-to-mid April at the earliest.
The defender is set to be sidelined for a minimum of 10 matches across all competitions, including Premier League fixtures with Newcastle, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton & Hove Albion, Leicester City, Manchester United and Crystal Palace.
Akanji will also miss the second leg of City's Champions League playoff with Real Madrid next Wednesday, and should the Citizens overturn their one-goal deficit to progress, the defender will also miss home and away ties in the last 16 between March 4 and 11.
In addition, Akanji will not be available for Man City's FA Cup fifth-round clash against Plymouth Argyle on March 1, or a possible quarter-final tie at the end of that month.
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Guardiola issues Grealish, Gonzalez injury update ahead of Newcastle clash
Meanwhile, Guardiola has provided an update on the fitness of Jack Grealish, who was also forced off with a muscle injury in the midweek defeat to Real Madrid.
"It's not as apparent right now as tough as Manu has done," said the Catalan. "But I don't know if he'll be ready tomorrow. We will see and assess in the next hours."
New signing Nico Gonzalez watched on as an unused substitute against Real Madrid, just a few days after coming off with an injury midway through the first half of City' FA Cup fourth-round win at Leyton Orient last weekend.
Guardiola has revealed that the Spanish midfielder is not completely free of pain, but he could be in contention to play in some capacity against Newcastle on Saturday.
"It's not a difficult start, he was just injured," said the Citizens boss. "A difficult start is when you play bad. That was not the case for the 20 minutes he played [against Leyton Orient].
"But of course it was a setback from when he arrived. He had a little pain. For Madrid, he was not fully fit, but day by day he is getting better. Like I said with [Grealish], we will assess in the next few hours."
Man City will also assess the fitness of Oscar Bobb, who picked up a minor ankle issue while building up his fitness in training after six months out with a leg fracture, while Rodri is still recovering from a season-ending ACL injury. body check tags ::
