Aguero set to miss Manchester derby

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero will be sidelined for a few weeks with a tendon injury that could rule him out of next month’s Manchester derby, manager Pep Guardiola said on Monday.

A limping Aguero was replaced by Gabriel Jesus in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Chelsea and Guardiola said they would need a “miracle” if the Argentine was to be fit for the Premier League match against rivals Manchester United on Dec. 7.

“(Aguero will miss) a few games, I don’t know exactly,” Guardiola told reporters ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League group match against Shakhtar Donetsk.

“The derby is in two weeks. Maybe we will have a miracle, but I don’t think so. He has a tendon problem in front.

“We will miss Sergio, we have had some problems with injuries but we will wait for him. Meanwhile, we have Gab and (Raheem) Sterling who can play in that position. We will live without him for a while.”

However, Guardiola said Rodri and David Silva, who were also substituted due to cramps, are both fit to play while Oleksandr Zinchenko is still recovering from a knee surgery.

“Of course, it’s the toughest period coming now but it is what it is. We’d rather have everyone but my advice is to the players and myself is don’t think too much,” Guardiola added. “We have enough good players to have enough quality there.”

City are top of Group C with 10 points — five ahead of Donetsk and Dinamo Zagreb — with two games to go. Their final game is in Zagreb next month.