Manchester City have received a major blow ahead of the crucial Manchester derby with the news that midfielder David Silva will be out for the next three weeks due to an injury suffered in the match against Newcastle United a few days ago.

City manager Manuel Pellegrini took the risk of playing one of his important players in the League Cup match. City were knocked out by a resurgent Newcastle team, but more importantly, they will be without Silva for the next few weeks. Even though the injury blow is often by the fact that the international break is coming around the corner, Pellegrini will have a major headache ahead of the Manchester derby.

City have been the dominant force in the local derbies of late. They have won the last three in succession, but Manchester United are slowly appear to be coming back to their best. Silva, along with Sergio Aguero, has been the two best players for City this season. They have been able to overcome the poor form of important players like Yaya Touré as a result of it. Now, there will be more pressure onAguero to score the goals that could close the gap on leaders Chelsea. The blues will have home match against QPR on Saturday.

“David has a problem in his ligament. Maybe he will be out around three weeks, so he will not be available for the derby.He is a very important player but I always say the same thing, we have a squad and we have to replace him with another player.I think we are a team, and in that team we need top players in top performance always, because that is the best way to play. Yaya has a small problem but he should play,” said the City manager.