Manchester City defender Bacary Sagna injured, Pep Guardiola to promote youth academy star - report

The FIFA Virus has made its first Manchester City victim, but the manager already has a replacement in mind.

City defender Bacary Sagna suffered an injury during Friday's World Cup European Qualifier between France and Bulgaria, and his status is currently uncertain. Sagna left the pitch still in the first half with pain in his thigh, and when asked after the game about what the problem was, his answer was definitely not good:

Sagna is back in Manchester to undergo complete medical tests to assess the extent of his injury, which looks like a hamstring tear, the same injury he suffered back in August and kept him out of three weeks of club and country action. A hamstring tear usually takes a month to be healed, and Sagna would miss the rest of October if that injury is confirmed.

With Sagna injured, Guardiola only has Pablo Zabaleta as a first team right-back, which means he'll give chances to a youth Academy star: EDS full-back Pablo Maffeo, who has already made one senior team appearance this season, is likely to be promoted to the first team and be available to both replace Sagna and serve as Zabaleta's backup for the next month, according to reports in England.

Maffeo is highly rated by Guardiola, and if he does well in his chances with the first team during Sagna's absence, he could get a full-time promotion soon.