Aymeric Laporte fears he is facing at least three weeks out after suffering another injury set back in Manchester City’s Champions League win over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.

The France centre half appeared to be in tears as he left the field in the first half of Wednesday’s 2-1 victory with a hamstring injury.

Laporte faces further tests to determine the full extent of the problem, which forced his substitution after 33 minutes, but he is thought to accept he will be looking at a minimum of a few weeks on the sidelines.

A three week lay-off would rule Laporte out of a crucial run of fixtures, starting with Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Aston Villa and including the Manchester derby and the second leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie against Real.

It is a bitter blow for City manager Pep Guardiola, who has only recently been able to call upon his best defender again after Laporte missed five months of the campaign with a serious knee injury.