Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola has confirmed that French midfielder Rayan Cherki has been ruled out for two months through injury. The 22-year-old signed in June for an initial fee of £30.45m from Ligue 1 side Lyon and scored on his Premier League debut in a 4-0 win at Wolves, before starting the loss to Tottenham last weekend.
Cherki was absent on Sunday as they lost 2-1 to Brighton which was their second loss in a row. Liverpool forward Hugo Ekitike will take Cherki’s place in Didier Deschamps’ France squad for September’s World Cup qualifiers.
According to a post from France’s official X account, external, Cherki has a “quadriceps tear”. The injury means he will miss the first Manchester derby of the new campaign on Sunday, 14 September. Cherki was in the Lyon side beaten by Manchester United 5-4 in an enthralling Europa League encounter.
