Pep Guardiola Delivers Benjamin Mendy Injury Update and Thanks Sergio Aguero for 'Trust' in New Deal

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Benjamin Mendy will remain sidelined for this weekend's Premier League clash with winless Cardiff, while admitting that he is still unsure when key man Kevin de Bruyne will be back from a knee ligament injury.

Mendy, who returned from a long-term knee problem last season to make it into France's World Cup winning squad has missed City's last two games in all competitions and now won't play in south Wales because a foot issue.

"Mendy is injured. He has a problem with the bone in his foot," Guardiola explained as he addressed the media ahead of the game.

On the subject of De Bruyne, who hasn't featured since the opening day of the season, is still a way of fitness, although progress on his recovery appears to be promising.

"I spoke with the doctor [about Kevin] and he is telling me it's going good but I don't know [when he will be back]. We will see. The important thing is when he comes back he is fit and can play the rest of the season," Guardiola commented.

De Bruyne himself suggested just this week that he could be back playing after the October international break, in time for the hotly anticipated Manchester derby in November.

City announced a new contract extension for star striker Sergio Aguero a few hours before the boss was due to face the media, with Guardiola revealing that City's all-time top scorer needed little persuasion to commit to the club for another until 2021.

"I didn't convince him, he decided himself. So thank you to him for trusting in us," Guardiola said.

"Players like him, Vincent [Kompany] and David [Silva] decided [to stay themselves] and they show every day in training session their commitment. I appreciate that a lot and I am so happy [Aguero] can stay 10 years in the club."

When his contract ends it is still expected that Aguero will fulfil his long-standing ambition of returning home to Argentina to play for former club Independiente before he retires.