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Manchester City suffered a double injury blow this week with both Sergio Aguero and David Silva set for a spell on the sidelines after picking up knocks on international duty.
Aguero has admitted that he expects to be out of action for around a month after suffering a grade two tear to his hamstring during Argentina’s 2-0 defeat by Ecuador.
"The studies we did today show that Sergio Aguero has a grade-two muscle tear," the Argentine Football Association said in a statement released on Friday.
But while the AFA were quick to rule the striker out of Argentina’s remaining World Cup qualifier against Paraguay, they did not specify how long his recovery will take and the likelihood is that City manager Manuel Pellegrini will show caution over Aguero’s return given his history with hamstring issues.
A grade two tear can take anywhere between two to eight weeks to heal, and given Aguergo’s persistent injury troubles, it is expected to be towards the higher end of that scale.
To make matters worse, influential midfielder Silva was forced off after just nine minutes during Spain’s 4-0 victory over Luxembourg that booked their place at the 2016 European Championships. Silva was replaced by Manchester United’s Juan Mata in the early stages of the Group C encounter, and the 29-year-old looks set to be sidelined for at least two weeks.
That would mean both players will miss the Premier League clash against Bournemouth next weekend as well as the Champions League group game against Seville a week on Wednesday, and Aguero looks certain to be ruled out of the Manchester derby when City travel to Old Trafford to take on rivals United on 25 October.
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While Silva faces a rush to be fit in time to face United, Aguero looks certain to miss further league games with Norwich and Aston Villa as well as the Capital One Cup clash with Crystal Palace and the return Champions League fixture in Seville, but the striker should return in time to face Liverpool on 21 November.
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