- Title: 'Incredibly bad news' - Guardiola on Sane's injury
- Date: 9th August 2019
- Summary: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UK (AUGUST 9, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANCHESTER CITY MANAGER, PEP GUARDIOLA, SAYING ABOUT GUNDOGAN SIGNING NEW CONTRACT: "No, I didn't, in my point of view, or in these kind of situations, I spoke I think once with him and I said I would be so delighted if you can stay because you are a player who is so difficult to find in Europe in terms of personality, plays in different positions, always play in a high level. All I can say is thank you to him and the club for the effort, to be consistent to keep him with us for the next four years."
- Embargoed: 23rd August 2019 15:19
- Keywords: Gundogan Pep Guardiola Manchester City football soccer Leroy Sane injury anterior cruciate ligament
- Location: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UK / LONDON, ENGLAND, UK / NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / KHARKIV, UKRAINE
- City: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UK / LONDON, ENGLAND, UK / NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / KHARKIV, UKRAINE
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Soccer,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA008ARHYREN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Manchester City winger Leroy Sane faces up to seven months out with a knee injury, manager Pep Guardiola said ahead of Saturday's (August 10) Premier League opener against West Ham United.
The 23-year-old Germany international damaged the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in City's Community Shield victory over Liverpool on Sunday (August 4), and will undergo surgery next week.
Sane, whose contract expires in 2021, had been linked with a move to German giants Bayern Munich during the close season.
He has been offered an extension but has yet to sign, having struggled to seal a regular starting spot last season.
However, Guardiola was keen to stress that at no point had he entertained thoughts of selling the winger who was named PFA Young Player of the Year in 2017-18.
Guardiola said his Spanish compatriot David Silva would take over as club captain following Vincent Kompany's departure at the end of last season.
New right back Joao Cancelo is unlikely to feature in their league opener having arrived from Juventus on Wednesday (August 7).
Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has signed a three-year contract extension which will keep him at the club until 2023.
Gundogan, who was signed from Borussia Dortmund in 2016 for 25 million pounds ($30.27 million), had one more year on his existing deal before he put pen to paper on the extension this week.
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