Manchester City’s manager Pep Guardiola is set to miss his team’s next two fixtures in the Premier League after undergoing back surgery. City are slated to play Sheffield United and Fulham in their upcoming matches on Sunday, August 27 and Saturday, September 2 and Guardiola is not going to be available for the same. Juanma Lillo, Guardiola’s assistant will take charge in his absence.
As per a statement released from the club, Guardiola was battling back pain for quite some time and was in discomfort. To get rid of the constant pain the Machester City boss flew to Barcelona in Spain to undergo surgery performed by Dr Mireia Illueca.
The club also informed that the surgery turned out to be a success and the 52-year-old will undergo rehabilitation in Barcelona before rejoining the team in the ongoing Premier League.
“The Manchester City boss has been suffering with severe back pain for some time lately, and flew out to Barcelona for emergency surgery performed by Dr Mireia Illueca. The surgery was a success, and Pep will now recover and rehabilitate in Barcelona.
“In his absence, assistant manager Juanma Lillo will oversee coaching of the first team on the training field and will assume duties on the touchline until Pep’s return. He is expected to return after the forthcoming international break.
“Everyone at Manchester City wishes Pep a speedy recovery, and look forward to seeing him back in Manchester soon,” the statement read.
The defending champions City have made an impressive start to the latest season of the Premier League. They started off with a convincing win 3-0 over Burnley as Erling Haaland and Rodri displayed praiseworthy performances. Playing in their second fixture of the season against Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, a noteworthy assist from Phil Foden saw Julian Alvarez score the only goal of the game in the 31st minute and it turned out to be decisive as the hosts emerged victorious.
City are second on the points table with two wins in as many games and have accumulated a total of six points to their credit.