Raheem Sterling’s hamstring injury could cause him to miss the first leg of Manchester City’s Champions League last-16 tie against Real Madrid later this month.
Sterling damaged his left hamstring during last Sunday’s Premier League defeat at Tottenham Hotspur and is certain to sit out of this weekend’s visit from West Ham.
The 25-year-old’s injury falls during the top-flight’s winter break, minimising the impact on City’s domestic campaign, but European duties resume at the Santiago Bernabeu on 26 February.
Pep Guardiola, the City manager, does not know whether Sterling will be fit again by the time of their visit to Madrid and could not give an expected return date.
“It’s a hamstring injury, and we will see,” he said. “Of course it takes weeks but we’ll see before Leicester, Madrid and the rest of the games. I don’t know right now.”
“It’s a problem, but it’s a problem we had with [Ilkay] Gundogan out for six months in the first year, and [Aymeric] Laporte this season for four or five months. It’s always a problem.
“But it is what it is. During the season it’s happened this kind of thing unfortunately, especially for the players.”
Leroy Sane is back in training with City's first team squad after a lengthy injury. Sané has not played since damaging knee ligaments in August’s Community Shield at Wembley.
Guardiola said: “He has started to train with us. He needs to recover tempo and confidence. It needs time. He needs weeks.”
