Benjamin Mendy’s injury might be a cause for concern for Man City and Pep Guardiola

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Manchester City left-back Benjamin Mendy could be headed to Barcelona for scans on his knee, with Manchester City fearing that his injury could be worse than expected earlier.

The 23-year-old will visit renowned specialist Dr Ramon Cugat to confirm the extent of the injury that he picked up at the weekend against Crystal Palace.

The France international injured his knee in a tackle on Andros Townsend and was taken off in the 29th minute. City went on to win the game 5-0.

Mendy’s knee was heavily swollen after the incident and first tests were inconclusive.

City’s medical team had hoped he had just suffered an impact injury — but he will now have tests to see if he has suffered any ligament damage.

Vincent Kompany, Ilkay Gundogan, and Kevin De Bruyne have all been treated by Dr Cugat, who is a trusted specialist that Pep Guardiola has worked with since being in charge at Barcelona.

Mendy joined City from Ligue 1 champions Monaco this summer for a reported £52 million, and after missing the start of the season with a thigh strain he showed his quality in the emphatic victories of Liverpool, Feyenoord, Watford and Crystal Palace in which City scored 20 goals without conceding.

A major injury to Mendy would be a significant blow to Guardiola, who is without a recognized backup left back.

Danilo has been used in that position before Mendy took over and is the most likely replacement for him in case the injury is a serious one.

Fabian Delph has also been used in the position in the Carabao cup and could provide cover if needed whilst Leroy Sane also can play on the left side.

But ahead of the Champions League game with Shakhtar Donetsk, Guardiola hinted an injury to Mendy would be a problem.

“We are going to find a solution,” he told a news conference. “[Delph] is a midfield player but he can play left-back. Fabian can help us a lot.”

City might have to go in the market to get another left-back in January and Guardiola’s decision to let go off Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, Aleksandr Kolarov, and Pablo Zabaleta in the span of a single window could now seem to be stupid.

Although any talk at this stage is premature and Guardiola will hope his summer signing is fit sooner rather than later.

After the game against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, City head to Chelsea for a crunch Premier League match and Pep will hope his full-back recovers in time for that one.