Sergio Aguero injury latest: Manchester City striker set to miss United derby with injury

Sergio Aguero will need a “miracle” if he is to recover from a thigh injury in time for next month’s Manchester derby, according to Pep Guardiola.

The Manchester City striker was ruled out for at least “a few games” on Monday after limping off during the win over Chelsea at the weekend.

City are already without long-term absentees Aymeric Laporte and Leroy Sané, while full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko is struggling with a knee problem.

Guardiola confirmed that Aguero will almost certainly miss the visit of Manchester United on 9 December, with Gabriel Jesus set to deputise.

“He will be out a few games,” the City manager said. “I don’t know exactly [how long], a few weeks but he will be out. It will be a few weeks.

“Of course we are going to miss Sergio as we need him. Unfortunately we’ve had a lot of problems with injuries – big ones with Aymeric and Leroy – and now we will miss him.

“Meanwhile we have Gabriel and [Raheem] Sterling who can play there in that position. We are going to live without him for a while.”

City welcome Shakhtar Donetsk to the Etihad on Tuesday night, requiring only a point to qualify from Group C and reach the Champions League knock-out stages.

Domestically, the Premier League champions face a string of testing fixtures with trips to Newcastle and Burnley before the derby against United at home.

Aguero is City’s all-time leading scorer, with 13 goals in 16 games across all competitions this season, and his absence over a busy period is a major blow.

“Of course it’s a tough period for us now,” Guardiola admitted. “I would prefer to have everyone [available] but my advice to the players is don’t think too much. We’ll see which players we have and what we have to do.

“We have enough good players. We have quality and mentality and maybe it’ll help us. Unfortunately, it is what it is.”

Jesus, who has started just six times in the Premier League and Champions League for City this season, said he is ready to step in for his injured team-mate.

“I am not happy because Sergio is injured,” he said. “I don’t like it when my friends are injured but I work here every day and I am ready to play. Every time in the training session because I want to improve everything.

“I want to improve my football. Every day I want to improve and learn and train good and work hard.

“I think I have to do it all the time because I am in a big club with big players big manager so I have to work and improve as much as possible.”

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