Pep Guardiola has undergone back surgery and will be absent for
Manchester City until after the international break next month.
The club confirmed on Tuesday that the Spaniard has been suffering with “severe back pain for some time” and flew out to Barcelona for an emergency procedure.
The surgery at the Hospital Quiron in the city was a success, the club say, and Guardiola will now recover back in Spain.
Assistant manager Juanma Lillo,
who re-joined the club earlier this summer, will now take up Guardiola’s duties until he returns.
His first game in charge on the touchline will be on Sunday when Manchester City travel to Sheffield United in the
Premier League.
The club added in a statement: “Everyone at Manchester City wishes Pep a speedy recovery, and look forward to seeing him back in Manchester soon.”
Lillo, 57, spent two years at City between 2020 and 2022, leaving the side last summer to take up a head coaching role at Qatari side Al Sadd.
City had been working to bring Lillo back to the Etihad this summer after Enzo Maresca left Guardiola’s coaching team for the top job at Championship side
Leicester City.
Lillo’s coaching career began in the lower divisions of Spanish football but he has had roles across the globe, including in Japan, China and Colombia. He also managed Guardiola towards the end of the former midfielder’s playing career, during their time together at Mexican side Dorados de Sinaloa.
Following the game at Bramall Lane, City host Fulham on September 2 before the international break between September 4 and 12.
City then travel to West Ham on September 16.
