Aguero will be ready for World Cup - Guardiola

Dom Farrell

Aguero will be ready for World Cup - Guardiola image

Sergio Aguero is on track to be fit for Argentina's World Cup campaign after Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola stated the striker's recovery from minor knee surgery is progressing well.

Aguero underwent keyhole surgery on his right knee to curtail a season where he won his third Premier League title and scored 30 goals in all competitions.

The 29-year-old is set to be part of Jorge Sampaoli's plans in Russia as the country makes another tilt for World Cup glory.

Speaking at a news conference ahead of City's Premier League match against Huddersfield Town, Guardiola confirmed the prognosis from the surgeon who operated on Aguero in Barcelona, Dr Ramon Cugat, was positive.

"Yes, he will arrive okay [for the World Cup]," Guardiola said.

"I have the information from Dr Cugat in Barcelona and Sergio's recovery is doing great."

Aguero's compatriot Nicolas Otamendi joined him in the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) Team of the Year and is likely to start for Argentina at the World Cup.

Guardiola has regularly highlighted Otamendi's importance at centre-back within a swashbuckling City side this season and believes the 30-year-old can be an asset for Sampaoli.

"Yes, of course, he is already a leader," he said. "Whether he is going to show it in the Argentina national team or not I don't know, but he is definitely a leader.

"He is a player who does not need to talk a lot to show you how amazing he is. He is a player who never lets you down, who never abandons you.

"He is definitely one of the people responsible for our success this season. He has always been there - with pain and with injuries - so I wish him a great World Cup."

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.