Manchester City winger Leroy Sane could be out for six or seven months after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in Sunday’s Community Shield win over Liverpool on Sunday.
The German international left the field after just 13 minutes on Sunday and the full scale of his injury was revealed yesterday. Speaking ahead of City’s opening visit to West Ham, manager Pep Guardiola said “It is incredibly bad news. I don’t know how long he will be out. Normally this kind of injury is six or seven months - hopefully February or March.”
The news may seem like a massive blow to the blues, but it must be remembered that City lost Kevin de Bruyne last August, and was subsequently hampered by a series of further injuries, however the blues still managed to win the domestic treble despite his absences. De Bruyne did make a comeback in October, but picked up a similar injury in the League Cup match at home to Fulham, and maybe this time, Pep won’t be so eager to rush Sane back into the line-up.
Mahrez Doping Boost
In better news, Riyad Mahrez has been cleared to play in the opening match in East London after being omitted from Sunday’s squad due to fears he could fall foul of doping regulations. The blues were concerned about a medicine the Algerian took at the African Cup of Nations tournament in July and wanted some further clarification on the medicine before allowing him to play again.
Silva Named Captain
In other news, City have named David Silva as captain for his final season in Manchester. Merlin joined the blues in 2010 and was selected by his teammates to take over from Vincent Kompany, who left at the end of last season to take up a player/manager role with Anderlecht.
“He’s been one decade here, he knows the club, he knows the Premier League,” said Guardiola. “He has big respect from his mates.” Silva announced in the summer that this coming season would be his last in Manchester after ten glorious years with the club.