The Citizens' key man will be absent when Los Blancos come to the Etihad for the second leg of the European cup tie.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed that Aymeric Laporte will be unavailable for his side's Champions League Round of 16 second leg tie with Real Madrid due to a hamstring injury. The 25-year-old Frenchman has been ruled out of action for at least four weeks.

Since arriving from Athletic Club in 2018, Laporte has had an ill-luck with injuries and his struggles still refuse to die out. Against Real Madrid on Wednesday, the center-back teammed up with his colleagues to clinch a vital 2-1 away win for City ahead of the second leg in Manchester but managed to pick up a knock prior to the end of proceedings.

Speaking to a news conference on Friday, Pep Guardiola confirmed that Laporte will be unable to feature for his side for the foreseeable future.

“He has a hamstring injury, so that is normally three weeks or one month, more or less,” the Spaniard said. “We tried to avoid it but unfortunately it has happened after four or five months out, then going directly into a big game. It sometimes happens.”

“It is tough but players have to overcome these situations. Life is not easy and always in the world the people who survive overcome the bad moments. The guys who don’t play are guys who say they can’t face it, [that] ‘the world is against me’.

“Injuries are the same. If you think, ‘I am an unlucky guy’, you will not improve. It is what it is. Accept it and work harder to come back in the best condition as possible.”

For Laporte, the timeline issued for his return means that he will miss the Sunday's EFL Cup Final with Aston Villa, the FA Cup tie at Sheffield Wednesday, the Manchester derby, as well as visits to Burnley and Chelsea. In a bigger picture, the player is also not expected to be ready when Real Madrid comes to the Etihad Stadium on March 19.