Man City defender Aymeric Laporte has knee surgery

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City says center back Aymeric Laporte has undergone surgery on his right knee after getting injured in the win over Brighton in the Premier League.

City says Laporte had the operation in Barcelona after “damaging his cartilage and lateral meniscus.”

The Premier League champions didn’t give a timeframe for Laporte’s absence, saying Wednesday “a more detailed prognosis will be provided in due course.”

Any lengthy absence for Laporte, who was described by City manager Pep Guardiola last week as the “best left-sided central defender in Europe,” would be a major blow to the team, which released long-serving captain Vincent Kompany in the offseason and has John Stones currently out injured.

Fernandinho, a center midfielder, filled in as a center back off the bench in the 4-0 win against Brighton on Saturday. Guardiola has previously mentioned he could use the Brazil international in that position more often this season.

Laporte was called up by France last week for the first time since 2017 ahead of European Championship qualifiers against Albania and Andorra. He hasn’t played a game for his senior national team.