Manchester City fear Aymeric Laporte faces 'weeks' out after injury against Real Madrid
Manchester City fear Aymeric Laporte will be out for "weeks" with a suspected hamstring injury – placing doubts over his availability for the second leg of their Champions League tie with Real Madrid.
The centre back limped out of Wednesday’s dramatic 2-1 win at the Bernabeu, sparking fears he’d aggravated the knee injury that has ruled him out for the majority of the season.
But it’s believed he sustained a hamstring strain.
And his refusal to leave the pitch on a stretcher – insisting on walking down the tunnel is a source of encouragement to City over the severity of the problem.
No time limit has been put on his return, with City’s medical staff assessing the problem after the match and on Thursday.
The fear is he will be sidelined for at least two weeks, with Pep Guardiola determined not to risk further damage.
He sees Laporte as vital to City’s hopes of winning the Champions League.
His potential absence for the second leg on March 17 would be a major blow as City look to book their palce in the quarter-finals for the third season in succession.
Guardiola said: “He’s injured. He’s had four or five months and it’s a problem when you come back. We wanted him to be fit to the end. With John Stones, Nico Otamendi, Eric Garcia and Fernandhinho, we can get through.”
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