Manchester City winger, Leroy Sane, will undergo surgery in the next few days after tearing his cruciate ligament in the Community Shield win over Liverpool.
The 23-year-old German international went off clutching his right knee after just 13 minutes at Wembley.
Sane, who has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich this summer, is now expected to remain at City.
City begin the defence of their title at West Ham at 12:30 BST tomorrow.
A statement on the club’s website said: “He has undergone testing throughout the week, with a specialist doctor travelling to Manchester for further examinations to understand the extent of the injury.
“Manchester City will provide Leroy with all the support and guidance he needs, and everyone connected with the club wishes him a quick and full recovery.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United has let an unprofessional Romelu Lukaku leave because Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is trying to instil a “new culture” at Old Trafford, Gary Neville has told ESPN FC.
Lukaku has joined Inter Milan in a £72 million deal at the end of a week that saw the striker reprimanded for publishing confidential training data on Twitter and earns a fine from United for missing training on Wednesday.
“My view on Romelu Lukaku is that if Manchester United is trying to set a new tone and culture through the club, which Ole is trying to do, any lack of professionalism has got to be stamped upon,” said Neville.
“But the idea of a player being overweight for me is unforgivable. You can play badly, miss shots on goal, hit a bad cross or give goals away as they’re mistakes in football but you can’t be overweight.
“We were never overweight, not fit or not prepared. How can you be overweight!?
“There’s no excuse. Romelu Lukaku has admitted himself that he was overweight so he has removed all doubt.” –ESPN
