Guardiola fears Aguero could be ruled out for the rest of the season

Pep Guardiola fears that Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero may miss the rest of the season after he limped out of the 5-0 victory over Burnley with a knee injury.

Aguero was caught just before half-time by Burnley captain Ben Mee but Guardiola revealed that he has been struggling with a knee problem since returning from lockdown.

The 32-year-old striker will go for tests on Tuesday but the City boss confirmed he will be miss the next few games but is worried he could be out for the rest of the campaign, including the end-of-season Champions League tournament in Lisbon.

“It doesn’t look good. We will see tomorrow exactly what he has but it doesn’t look good for the season,” Guardiola said in his virtual post-match press conference.

“He was struggling the last month with a problem in his knee and now he felt something but it doesn’t look good. 

“The doctor says it will take time. A few games [out] for sure but maybe tomorrow the tests he will get good news. We will see.”

Guardiola  said before the beginning of Project Restart that he was worried about the potential of injuries because of clubs’ lack of preparation.

City got through the first game against Arsenal, although the visitors suffered setbacks to Granit Xhaka and Pablo Mari.

Foden, who scored twice in the win over Burnley, also had ice strapped to his left thigh after being substituted but said he had taken a kick to his leg. Guardiola praised the 20-year-old’s performance but again challenged him to get even better.

“When Phil plays, he’s never played badly,” the City boss said. “Especially his behaviour and his attitude. It doesn’t matter if he plays or doesn’t play, he loves to play football.

“You can see on his Instagram, when he is on a day off he is with his friends with the ball. He loves being the first out for a training session with the ball, he loves to play and every time he has played since he was promoted to play with us, he has always been a high level. 

“But we cannot forget he is 19 or 20 and he has to improve. He will be an important player for our next decade at this club. The minutes he has, he deserves it.”