Aymeric Laporte's injury doesn't look good, reveals Pep Guardiola

While Manchester City did end up beating Brighton quite comfortably, it came at a big cost, with Aymeric Laporte stretchered off the field. The Frenchman received a lot of treatment on the field but was eventually replaced by Fernandinho in the first half. That saw Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola's post-match press conference dominated by the incident, with the Spaniard expressing his concerns over the centre back.

"He is in hospital. It doesn't look good. Tomorrow we will know. I think it will be a while. Fernandinho is a holding midfielder, everyone knows it, me included, but I think he has the conditions to play there [centre-back.] The problems we have there as a situation, he is going to adapt. He is intelligent, fast, strong in the headers, in the build-up, he has the quality to see what happens in front. He can play in both positions." Guardiola told Sky Sports.

With the club not signing a new center-back after Vincent Kompany’s departure, Guardiola has revealed that he will now be forced to play his Fernandinho at centre back because of the lack of options. John Stones still remains injured, leaving just Nicolas Otamendi as their only central defensive option. However, Fernandinho is known for his versatility, and Guardiola believes that the Brazilian is good enough to replace the Frenchman.