Guardiola confirms Aguero rib blow

Pep Guardiola has confirmed Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero suffered a suspected broken rib in a car accident in Amsterdam on Thursday.

Leaders City travel to champions Chelsea today aiming to extend a run of seven consecutive wins in all competitions but their preparations have been dealt a double blow this week.

In a statement on Thursday, the club announced Benjamin Mendy sustained a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament during last weekend’s 5-0 home win over Crystal Palace, while news broke on Friday that Aguero had been involved in a car crash after attending a concert by Colombian pop star Maluma.

Initial reports suggested the 29-year-old, who has seven goals this season and is within one of City’s all-time record mark of 177 set by Eric Brook, would be sidelined for around two months due to the incident, which occurred on Amsterdam’s De Boelelaan road.

City issued a statement acknowledging Aguero had “sustained injuries” while in the Netherlands on his day off, without commenting on the nature of the problem, but Guardiola told a pre-match news conference his understanding was his top striker had suffered a broken rib.

“Sergio had an accident, his still in Amsterdam and he’s coming back today,” he said.

“I don’t know, I’m not a doctor, I don’t know exactly what he had. It was an accident but fortunately he can come back and I hope he recovers.

“The first impression we have is he has broken the rib, but exactly how long he will be off, we don’t know.”

Aguero’s absence means Brazil striker Gabriel Jesus is likely to lead the line for City at Stamford Bridge, where they have won only once in their previous seven attempts, and for much a busy schedule that currently packs in 12 fixtures over the next two months at home and abroad.