Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will miss the next two games for back surgery

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola had an "emergency surgery" so he will not take charge of the team for around another month. City said, "Guardiola has been suffering from severe back pain for some time and decided to have an operation in Barcelona, where he will spend time recovering." His assistant, Juanma Lillo, will take over Guardiola's duties in the meantime.

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Manchester City has games against Sheffield United and Fulham before two weeks of international matches. City's first game back is in the league against West Ham on Sept. 16, and the group stage of the Champions League begins the following midweek.

The 57-year-old Lillo is in his second stint as Guardiola's assistant at City. He is holding the position from 2020-22 after joining from Qingdao Huanghai in China. He left in June 2022 to take up a position as a coach at Al-Sadd in Qatar. Lillo was previously the coach of Pep Guardiola when both were in Mexico at Dorados.