Pep Guardiola to miss next two Manchester City games following back surgery
Josep "Pep" Guardiola Sala (Manchester City, Cheftrainer, head coach); Enttäuschung, enttäuscht, Frustration, disappointed
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is set to miss the next two Premier League games following back surgery this week.
The treble-winning coach was on the touchline for Man City‘s opening wins against Burnley and Newcastle, but the Blues will have to do without him for their next two games against Sheffield United and Fulham over the next couple of weekends after Guardiola underwent an emergency operation.
While the procedure itself was sent to be only a “minor” one, the Catalan is said to have been suffering from “severe back pain” for some time and so decided to fly back home to have the surgery and recover.
Thankfully for his squad and everyone at the club, the operation — carried out by fellow Spaniard, Dr Mireia Illueca — was successful and Pep is now said to be recuperating.
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The 52-year-old will now remain in Barcelona for the remainder of his recovery which is set to last at least a fortnight before he returns to Manchester.
Announcing his temporary absence in a statement, the club confirmed that “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”, they added.
Earlier this week, Guardiola had another much less serious pain in his backside after he was filmed receiving a parking ticket. While he handled the whole thing in good spirits, it’s safe to say social media had their fun with the clip.
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Featured Image — Steffen Prößdorf (via Wikimedia Commons)