Vincent Kompany ruled out for 4-6 weeks with knee injury

Kompany, who has had long-standing problems with injuries, had to be taken off against Crystal Palace having made a rare start.

The initial diagnosis was concussion, after a collision with Claudio Bravo, but Guardiola later revealed that the defender had also damaged the ligaments in his knee.

Speaking at his press conference ahead of the game against Burnley, Guardiola confirmed that the defender would be out for a four to six weeks.

"Doctor Cugat confirmed what the doctors here said,” Guardiola said. “He will be four to six weeks out."

Yaya Toure had been mentioned as a possible alternative to fill in at centre-back, but Guardiola appears reluctant to use the Ivorian in that role.

“Yaya can play in many positions, but I think we have other options to play there at centre-back. He played there in Barcelona once, the Champions League final against Manchester United, because we have a lot of problems there. We didn't have players. He played amazing.

“Yaya will play in more attacking positions - to decide the last pass, to score goals, for our build up in the last third of the pitch. Maybe it can happen but I have other options. Fernandinho can play there, Sagna can play there. We cannot forget at Crystal Palace after one month and a half injured, Bacary played his first game at centre-back and played awesome. So we have other options."