Extent of Raheem Sterling's Hamstring Injury Revealed Ahead of Real Madrid Champions League Tie

​Manchester City could be without Raheem Sterling for four weeks after he suffered a hamstring injury in the recent defeat to Tottenham, crucially meaning he will miss the first leg of the club's Champions League clash with Real Madrid.

Sterling sustained the problem during the club's 2-0 defeat in north London last Sunday and was forced to come off in the second half having aggravated the issue.

Initially, ​City confirmed that ​Sterling would be out of the club's home clash against West Ham this weekend, but fears are growing that the forward would be set for an extended spell on the sidelines. Following the ​Premier League encounter with the Hammers, the Cityzens will go on their winter break, which will at least give Sterling time to rest in order to regain his fitness.

However, the ​Mail are now revealing that despite having time off, the England international is due to miss pivotal top-flight games as well as the first leg of the club's ​Champions League round of 16 showdown at the Bernabéu.

After facing David Moyes' side, City will have a 13-day break ahead of their trip to the King Power Stadium to take on Leicester, and then just four days later travel to Spain to take on ​Madrid. As it stands, Sterling could miss all three of those games.

It's a killer blow to Pep Guardiola and his side, who are no longer in the Premier League title race but instead looking to secure the three other trophies they have left to play for - the most important of those undoubtedly being the Champions League.

There is a possibility for Leroy Sané to fill the void Sterling's injury will leave, but the German is only just returning from a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained back in August. While West Ham will come too soon for Sané, the Leicester match following that could see the forward make his first outing since the 2019 Community Shield. 


That said, City will be cautious about being too hasty. Aymeric Laporte was brought back five days before his scheduled return when the club took on Sheffield United, yet he has not featured in any of Guardiola's squads since.


For more from Ross Kennerley, follow him on Twitter!  


Source : 90min