Sergio Aguero: Man City manager Pep Guardiola to protect striker after injury
Last updated on .From the section Man City
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola still intends to protect Sergio Aguero even though it might mean his side head into their most difficult spell of the season without an orthodox striker.
Aguero, 32, came on for 13 minutes in Saturday's league win over Newcastle.
He has made four appearances totalling 66 minutes within two and a half weeks in his latest comeback attempt from a knee injury he suffered in June.
"I love this guy and I need him," said Guardiola.
The Spaniard must now decide whether to start Aguero in a run of tough away games that starts at Everton on Monday in the Premier League followed by a trip to Chelsea, also in the league, and then Manchester United in the Carabao Cup semi-final.
The decision is not made any easier by the knowledge Gabriel Jesus will miss at least the first two of those games after testing positive for coronavirus.
"We discussed whether to start Sergio [against Newcastle] and it is incredible news that we saw him sharp and dynamic," Guardiola added.
"But we have to be careful. We have to handle the minutes. We cannot do what we did in the past, when he came back and then got injured."
After a four-month absence, Aguero initially returned in October but after three appearances was ruled out for another four weeks and then for two more after he suffered a reaction to a single game during a second comeback attempt.
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