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Benjamin Mendy unlikely to play again this season after suffering serious injury
The France international joined from Monaco in a £52m deal this summer
Mendy will undergo surgery in Barcelona on Friday before starting rehabilitation

Published: 14:15 EDT, 28 September 2017 | Updated: 14:41 EDT, 28 September 2017

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Manchester City have confirmed that new £52million signing Benjamin Mendy has ruptured the cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Mendy will have surgery in Barcelona on Friday and faces a battle to play again this season, delivering a serious blow to City's plans.

The France left-back suffered the injury against Crystal Palace last weekend in what was only his fifth appearance for City since moving from Monaco in the summer.

Benjamin Mendy will miss a significant amount of Manchester City's season through injury

The 23-year-old was caught in a challenge with Palace's Andros Townsend and was forced off

Mendy was sent to Spain to be assessed by specialist surgeon Dr Ramon Cugat and scans on Thursday confirmed the serious ligament damage.

A statement from the club read: 'Manchester City can confirm that Benjamin Mendy has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

'After initial tests in Manchester at the start of the week, Benjamin travelled to Barcelona to see a specialist doctor, where further examinations of the knee today confirmed the extent of the injury.

'Benjamin will undergo surgery tomorrow in Barcelona, and everyone at the club wishes him a speedy recovery.'

Mendy appeared to be in good spirits as he joked with his fans on Twitter after the news broke

Guardiola hinted at the severity of the injury after Tuesday's win over Shakhtar Donetsk when he compared Mendy's injury to that of Ilkay Gundogan who did not play for nine months after rupturing his ACL last season.

The City boss also did not rule out buying a new left-back in the January transfer window after being linked with Southampton's Ryan Bertrand over the summer.

The player himself tweeted after the news was confirmed, saying he was joining 'Injury FC' on loan but vowed to come back stronger.

He wrote: 'Bad news guys. l'l be joining Injury FC on loan for a couple monthes [sic] with ruptured ACL... but will be back soon & stronger hopefully.'

He followed it up with: 'Thank you all for the warm messages since the game. Really appreciate. We keep in touch.'