Pep Guardiola will be absent from the touchline for Manchester City’s next two matches after having an operation to correct his “severe back pain”.
Guardiola, 52, had an operation in Barcelona on Tuesday and will miss City’s next two games, which are against Sheffield United and Fulham, while he recovers. He will be replaced on the touchline by assistant, Juanma Lillo, until he returns after September’s international break.
A statement issued by City on Tuesday read: “Pep Guardiola has today undergone a routine operation on a back problem,” adding: “The Manchester City boss has been suffering with severe back pain for some time lately, and flew out to Barcelona for emergency surgery performed by Dr. Mireia Illueca. The surgery was a success, and Pep will now recover and rehabilitate in Barcelona.
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“In his absence, assistant manager Juanma Lillo will oversee the coaching of the first team on the training field and will assume duties on the touchline until Pep’s return. He is expected to return after the forthcoming international break. Everyone at Manchester City wishes Pep a speedy recovery, and looks forward to seeing him back in Manchester soon.”
Lillo, 57, first moved to the Etihad Stadium in the summer of 2020, replacing Mikel Arteta as Guardiola’s assistant after guiding Qingdao Huanghai to promotion to the top-tier Chinese Super League. He left before City’s treble-winning campaign last season to take up a head coach role with Al Sadd in Qatar but came back to City.
City have started their season with back-to-back Premier League wins against Burnley and Newcastle United, as well as a victory in the UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla. Guardiola’s return is pencilled in for the trip to West Ham United on Sept 16.