Man City optimistic Sergio Aguero will only be out for '2-4 weeks' as Pep Guardiola defends striker after crash

Pep Guardiola has said he will continue allowing Manchester City players to travel abroad on days off - despite the broken rib sustained by Sergio Aguero in Amsterdam - because “I’m not the police”.

Aguero was kept in hospital overnight after the taxi he was in struck a streetlight in the Dutch capital late on Thursday night, with the Argentine claiming his seatbelt had prevented him suffering a more serious injury. Aguero was in Amsterdam to attend a concert by his friend, the Colombian singer Maluma, and there was widespread surprise that the striker travelled so close to City’s vital Premier League game away to Chelsea on Saturday afternoon.

Guardiola was adamant, however, that he had no issue with the 29-year-old, saying he had not broken any club rules and did not have to apologise. Aguero would also have arrived back late given he had to get a private jet from Amsterdam after the concert, but Guardiola insisted that was also not a cause for concern.

"Our players’ physical condition is top,” he said. “Our athletic preparation is perfect. We trained 11am not 8am (on Friday) so he had enough time to rest.”

Asked whether Aguero had permission to travel abroad so close to a game, Guardiola responded curtly: “Day off. I’m not the police.”

Following examination by City’s medical staff it is now hoped that Aguero will only be out for between two and four weeks with his broken rib. The club are hopeful that estimates of a two-month absence are overly pessimistic and he will return to action far sooner.

He tweeted: “I'm home in Manchester after an exam by club Drs. It's a broken rib. Hurts, but I'm fine, fully focused on recovery. Thank you all!

“The taxi I was riding made a wrong turn and crashed against a pole. It was a very heavy slam but seatbelts prevented it from being worse. I'd like to thank the staff of the VU University Medical Amsterdam for their care and support. Hats off to all their team. Thank you with all my heart for the supportive messages, they really do help me in recovering.”

The relationship between Guardiola and Aguero has appeared strained in the past with the manager questioning the forward’s work-rate and Gabriel Jesus emerging as first-choice striker. Despite that, Aguero does appear to have won his manager over more recently and the Spaniard defended him in public on Friday.

Was the injury not avoidable, he was asked? "Yes, the taxi driver didn't see the curve and the post,” Guardiola said. “Sergio didn't drive. I know a player who got injured off a broken glass in the kitchen and cut his finger - he was out two months. There. Life is life."

Guardiola later added: "I don't want to know what my players do (on a day off). I don’t want to know. If they are fathers, they have a full responsibility on their shoulders on and off the pitch. They know exactly what they have to do. I have a private life, a family. There are rules and ways to live between each other and that's all.

“I think the day off is for the players to be happy. I’m not a manager who trains every day because I like the players to rest, mentally and physically, and they can enjoy their lives. When he decides to go there (Amsterdam) then it’s ok for me.”

Guardiola said the first he had heard of the accident was when he woke up on Friday and added that he had not spoken to Aguero. “No, not yet,” he said. “I was this morning preparing training and other things but will speak to him this afternoon. I know he’s ok in terms of the accident. We are aware what happened and he’s ok. That’s the most important thing. After that it’s to recover as soon as possible.”

While much of Friday’s briefing was dominated by Aguero’s injury, the loss of Benjamin Mendy, who underwent surgery in Barcelona on Friday for a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, is a greater blow for Guardiola. The left-back is out until the end of April, at the earliest.

"We can't replace him,” Guardiola admitted. “In the way he plays, the way he goes up and down, you can't. We have to do it in a different way. Nobody in the world has his energy, his mood on the pitch, in the locker room.”

Guardiola also said that injured captain Vincent Kompany was not close to returning and despite being included in the Belgium squad would not play for his country. “Of course he cannot play for Belgium,” he said.