Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola confirmed the worst fears of many fans, as he stated that talismanic winger Leroy Sané will be out for up to seven weeks having picked up ankle ligament damage during Sunday's 2-0 win over Cardiff City. 

Going to be quite the lay-off 

Sané has been crucial throughout the campaign for Guardiola's men and their dominance across all competitions, with the German contributing 11 goals and producing 14 assists in all competitions this season.

The 22-year-old's role in Sunday's win lasted only 45 minutes after being on the end of a heavy challenge of Joe Bennett, who was later dismissed.

A scan on Monday confirmed that the German forward had suffered ankle ligament damage. 

Guardiola confirmed that Sané will be out for up to seven weeks, which will almost certainly see him absent from the Champions League and Carabao Cup clashes with FC Basel and Arsenal respectively, and also stated that he respects Neil Warnock's comments that Bennett's challenge was indicative of English football. 

“Leroy is injured," Guardiola confirmed during his pre-match press conference. “It will be six weeks, seven weeks out.”

“He [Warnock] has more experience than me by far about English football,” the Catalan stated on the Cardiff boss' comments. "He knows it better than me. If he says that, what can I say." 

“I have been here 18 months and I think English football is not like this," the coach admitted. "Again, Neil has more experience than me, a guy whose whole career was here in England. What can I say." 

"He has spent all his career in England," Guardiola added. "And that is why his opinions are his opinions."

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Just what City needs 

It has already proven to be quite a busy start to the week in Eastlands, with the club announcing their new club-record signing in the defender Aymeric Laporte. 

The club having been linked with the Frenchman for some time dating back to Guardiola's early days The Etihad Stadium, but The Citizens stumped up for the 23-year-old's £57.2million release clause. 

Guardiola remained coy on whether or not the Frenchman would make his debut on Wednesday night against West Brom, but stated that Laporte had the "skills" City needed to succeed. 

“He’s a left-footed central defender who has played since a young age in La Liga on the biggest stages,” he said on what Laporte can bring to the City side. "He’s strong in the air, good quality with the pass."

“He is experienced," the coach highlighted. "Fast and he has the skills we need." 

“He is the perfect age, 23-years-old," Guardiola concluded. "So hopefully he will have a long career here at Manchester City.”

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.