PEP GUARDIOLA has undergone emergency back surgery.
And he is set to miss Manchester City’s next two matches.
The Spaniard, 52, needed the operation to help deal with “severe pain” that he had been experiencing for “some time”.
And he flew out to Barcelona to go under the knife with surgeon Dr Mireia Illueca, who works at the Barcelona Spine Institute.
City confirmed the procedure had gone to plan and Guardiola will now spend some time resting up in his homeland – just hours after footage emerged of the manager getting a parking ticket in Manchester.
The Premier League champions said: “The Manchester City boss has been suffering with severe back pain for some time lately, and flew out to Barcelona for emergency surgery performed by Dr Mireia Illueca.
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“The surgery was a success, and Pep will now recover and rehabilitate in Barcelona.
“In his absence, 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.”
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Guardiola is expected to be absent for Sunday’s trip to Sheffield United as well as the home clash with Fulham on September 2.
And that could mean the Treble-winning coach may not be in the dugout until City face West Ham away on September 16.
That will see Lillo take charge of orchestrating the players on the sidelines – although it is unclear if he will face the media due to his limited English.
The 57-year-old began his coaching career way back in 1981 – working for teams in Spain, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Japan and China – and joined City as Mikel Arteta’s replacement in 2020.
After two years, he took the managerial job to succeed Javi Gracia at Saudi side Al-Sadd but returned to the Etihad this year following Enzo Maresca’s departure for Leicester.
City have made a perfect start to the season with two wins – beating Burnley and then Newcastle.
In the latter stages of the game, Guardiola even enjoyed a funny interaction with a fan questioning his substitutions.
Antonio Conte missed four Tottenham matches last season when he was rushed to hospital and needed gallbladder surgery.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
