Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has shared a worrying injury update involving star defender Aymeric Laporte.

The Lowdown: City start brightly...

After a major summer overhaul, the Premier League champions have started this new campaign brilliantly and remain unbeaten following their latest 1-1 draw away to Aston Villa.

Marquee signing Erling Haaland has hit the ground running with 1o goals and an assist over his first six top-flight matches, while the likes of fellow newcomer Julian Alvarez have also turned heads.

The Sky Blues have had to cope with some injury issues as well, with Jack Grealish, Kalvin Phillips and the 'sensational' Laporte (as dubbed by Spain head coach Luis Enrique) all missing their fair share of matches so far.

The Latest: Guardiola shares damning Laporte update...

Speaking to the media before City's trip to Villa Park on Saturday, Guardiola shared a worrying update on the Spain defender

Indeed, the 51-year-old warned supporters that they may have to wait several weeks for Laporte's return to action, coming after surgery on his knee.

The City manager stated (via BBC): "Aymeric is still a month or a month and a half away. He had a surgery on the bone. We will not push him. Knee injuries can be very difficult.

"We had four incredible central defenders before Manu, but sometimes Ayme had tough injuries."

The Verdict: Bad news?

City's deadline day signing of defender Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund appears a very smart piece of business amid this news.

One silver lining for supporters is getting to witness the Ruben Dias/John Stones partnership consistently again, coming after the duo played imperiously alongside each other during the 2020/21 season.

Their form was a major factor in City's league title triumph and their run to the Champions League final that year, and it will be interesting to see if they rediscover that superb understanding.