Manchester City's Fernandinho ruled out for 4-6 weeks, says manager Pep Guardiola

Manchester City`s injury problems mounted after their Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho was ruled out for up to six weeks after suffering a leg injury in their 3-1 Champions League win over Porto on Wednesday.

Fernandinho was only introduced in the 85th minute but hobbled off in stoppage time after suffering what appeared to be a leg muscle strain.

"Bad news, his leg will be, I think four to six weeks out, yes it is a big blow for us with these amount of games and no people there. But it is what it is," said City manager Pep Guardiola.

Guardiola was already without key midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, defender Aymeric Laporte and Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus, while he has several players still short of full match fitness, including German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, whose superb free kick put City 2-1 up against Porto after they had fallen behind in the 14th minute.

“If I’m honest, we are struggling a little bit with injuries and to lose Fernandinho towards the end of the game is another blow,” said Gundogan.

“There are others, of course, plus some who have just come back and I myself am not fully there yet after having COVID-19," he added.

De Bruyne and Laporte are expected to return to training on Thursday but it is not clear if they will be ready for Saturday`s Premier League encounter at West Ham.

"I think Kevin and Laporte start training tomorrow but I don`t know how they will be tomorrow and the next days so we will see," said Guardiola.

"Unfortunately people came back but now we have lost another. In three days we go to London and after we travel to France to play against Marseille and then Sheffield three days after. The schedules are so demanding and we need all the players," he added.