Soccer

Report: Manchester City's Aguero hurt in serious car accident

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero suffered a fractured rib and is in hospital after being involved as a passenger in a car accident in Amsterdam, reports Argentine news outlet TyC Sports, as well as Fabrizio Romano of the Guardian and Sky Sports.

Aguero was reportedly in a taxi heading to the airport for a flight back to Manchester after attending a concert for Colombian singer Maluma, with whom he was photographed earlier in the evening. TyC Sports reports Aguero asked the driver to slow down and then put on his seat belt, before the taxi driver lost control of the vehicle and hit a pole.

TyC Sports adds Aguero could face around two months of recovery.

Aguero and his City teammates were recently in Holland for a Champions League group stage match against Feyenoord, which they won 4-0. He was set to return to Manchester before a trip to London for a Saturday encounter with Chelsea. Afterward, Aguero would be turning his focus to a pair of critical World Cup qualifying matches for Argentina against Peru and Paraguay.

The accident likely sees him miss all three fixtures, and potentially a few more as Pep Guardiola’s side suffered its second major loss in the last 24 hours; the club announced earlier that Benjamin Mendy was also ruled out long-term with a ruptured ACL.

Aguero has been a critical part of Manchester City’s strong start to the 2017-18 Premier League campaign. The 29-year-old has six goals and three assists in the Premier League over six matches, as well as one goal in two Champions League tilts. In his absence, Gabriel Jesus will likely slot in up top.

For Jorge Sampaoli, losing Aguero sees Argentina without its preferred striker up top, but with Lionel Messi and Paulo Dybala available for selection, the Albiceleste should still be able to field a pair of strong attacking players. Mauro Icardi is another option.

Argentina will hope Aguero’s absence does not cause major issues, however, as the usually-dominant South American outfit sits fifth in CONMEBOL’s World Cup qualifying table.