Manchester City travel to the King Power Stadium to face Liverpool in the Community Shield final on Saturday evening, but Pep Guardiola will be without Aymeric Laporte as he’s still recovering from a knee injury.
The 28-year-old picked up the knock at the tail end of last season and underwent surgery to fix the problem, but Guardiola says it means he won’t be back in action for at least another month.
Who will win the Community Shield final?
Man City
Liverpool
He revealed in his pre-match press conference: “Laporte is injured. He had surgery after last season. He played the last three games with an injury, an incredible effort but he could not continue to do that.
“He has done incredibly well but we need to be careful because it is the knee. I think he will be out in August and maybe in September he will start to be with us. We will see.”
The Spanish international made 33 Premier League appearances from a possible 38 last season and played in all six of City’s Champions League latter stage games. Laporte was on the losing team just three times in all those games, so he will be missed against Liverpool.
In his absence, Guardiola is likely to call upon Nathan Ake. The 27-year-old was close to a departure over the summer, but he’s played in pre-season and has put himself in contention of starting at centre-back. John Stones will be short of match fitness, so he may only make the bench over the weekend.