Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte is expected to miss three-to-four weeks after suffering a hamstring injury in the last-16 clash against Real Madrid earlier this week, manager Pep Guardiola confirmed Friday, reports BBC Sport.
The French defender, who’d recently returned from a serious knee injury, limped out of City’s 2-1 Champions League win in Madrid on Wednesday. It was only his eighth appearance of the season.
“He has a hamstring injury, three weeks out, more or less a month,” Guardiola told reporters. “Unfortunately this happens after four or five months out.”
Laporte, 25, underwent surgery in September to repair cartilage and lateral meniscus damage in his right knee.
He returned to action in January and was being eased back into the rotation; the match against Real Madrid was just his fourth appearance since rejoining the squad.
Guardiola, who’s described Laporte as the “best left-sided central defender in the world,” admitted after the crucial midweek victory that it may have been a “risk” to start the Frenchman at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Laporte lasted 33 minutes before being replaced by Fernandinho, who’s been deputizing at center-back in his absence.
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