Manchester City risk losing Benjamin Mendy until the new year after the France defender underwent surgery on Wednesday night on a knee injury in a fresh injury blow for the Premier League champions.

Having lost Kevin De Bruyne at the start of this month for five to six weeks, City will now be without Mendy for several weeks after another injury setback for the left back who missed the majority of last season with a ruptured cruciate.

Mendy suffered a small tear to the meniscus in his left knee towards the end of Sunday’s 3-1 derby win over Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium.

Scans revealed the extent of the damage and, after withdrawing from international duty with France, City sent him to Barcelona for further assessment by Dr Ramon Cugat, who operated at the Quironsalud hospital on Wednesday.

Mendy would miss 11 matches if he failed to play again this year, including the trip to title rivals Chelsea next month. De Bruyne should have returned before then with the midfielder making good progress with his knee injury.