Benjamin Mendy injury forces Pep Guardiola to consider January transfer replacement after 'major setback'

Mendy is going to Barcelona on Thursday to establish exactly how long he will be out for but Guardiola has spoken very pessimistically about the French left-back

Guardiola is disappointed with Mendy's injury (Getty)

Pep Guardiola accepts he may have to go into the January transfer market to find a replacement for Benjamin Mendy, whose knee injury will keep him sidelined for longer than City first feared.

Mendy is going to Barcelona on Thursday to establish exactly how long he will be out for but Guardiola spoke very pessimistically about the French left-back in his press conference on Tuesday evening.

He said that his absence would be for “a bit long”, he later said months, and that he would consider buying a new left-back in January now. Guardiola admitted it was a “major setback” for Mendy and for the club.

“The day after tomorrow he is travelling to Barcelona, we are going to see finally what he is,” Guardiola said. Mendy is going to see the famous Dr Ramon Cugat, Guardiola’s most trusted doctor, later this week.

“Our first impression will be a little bit long out of the pitch. But wait until Thursday. By then I am pretty sure it will be longer than we expect, than we would like.”

City spent £52million on Mendy this summer and he started his City career impressively. Guardiola said it was a blow to the team not to have him for the next few months. “Very frustrating for him, first as a person,” Guardiola said.

Delph can fill in at left-back (Getty)

“As happened last year with Ilkay Gundogan, I feel really sad for him. For the way we want to play, we will lose a lot. Obviously he’s a unique player, for the joy he gives in and out the pitch, it’s going to be a major setback.”

This is why Guardiola is now considering going into the transfer market this January to find a new left-back to replace what Mendy gives him on that side. “We will see in January,” Guardiola said.

“We thought next summer about looking for another replacement at left-back, we will see what we do, we have alternatives in our squad, Fabian Delph, Danilo, Fernandinho, and Zinchenko, we will see as we go along.”

Guardiola was delighted with how City beat a very strong Shakhtar side in an even game at the Etihad. “We won against an amazing team,” Guardiola said.

“We made an extraordinary performance, especially in the second half. Their full-backs are amazing players, they are fast, well organised defensively. We had a lot to do to beat them.”