Man City can't trigger loan recall after Rayan Cherki injury

After a strong start to his City career, Cherki is expected to miss around two months of action because of a thigh injury. The Athletic writes that the club do have a loan recall in the agreement that sent Echeverri to Bayer Leverkusen last month, but cannot use it becase the break clause only applies during the January transfer window.

Phil Foden is also thought to be carrying a less serious injury, with he, Cherki and Savinho all missing from the weekend defeat to Brighton. Savinho has not left the club this summer, despite links with Tottenham. City also had Jeremy Doku and Nico O'Reilly on the bench at the Amex Stadium, suggesting there is still sufficient depth. Oscar Bobb, Omar Marmoush, Bernardo Silva and Tijjani Reijnders were the attacking midfield/wide starters. Echeverri may have struggled to get regular game time even without Cherki adding competition.

Echeverri has appeared in both Bayer Leverkusen games the club has played since his arrival, but only as a substitute. The hope would be that he becomes more involved as he settles into the new country and environment. It remains to be seen what impact the sudden and unexpected dismissal of Erik ten Hag might have on his prospects, for better or worse.

Pep Guardiola has said that he expects Savinho to return after the international break. Foden's timeline is a little less clear but the England international isn't expected to be sidelined for very long either.