Aguero charged with violent conduct, could miss Manchester derby

Manchester City may have to do without its star striker Sergio Aguero in the trip to Manchester United on Sept. 10, after the Football Association found the Argentinian guilty of violent conduct in last Sunday's visit of West Ham United.

Under the close attention of the Hammers' Winston Reid, Aguero appeared to deliberately swing his left elbow in the direction of the defender, resulting in the 78th-minute substitution of his opponent with a facial injury.

The incident went unseen by referee Andre Marriner, but Aguero has been punished retrospectively by the FA.

The country's football governing body stated:

Sergio Aguero has been charged for an alleged act of violent conduct which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video.

The Manchester City forward was involved in an incident with West Ham United's Winston Reid in the 76th minute of the game on Sunday (28 August 2016).

City hasn't revealed whether it will appeal the punishment, with a three-match ban appearing the likely scenario due to it being a sending-off offence. That would see Aguero, who has six goals over four competitive outings so far this term, unavailable for the Manchester derby, and then the two following meetings with Bournemouth and Swansea City.

Aguero sitting out the short journey to Old Trafford is the most damaging. Both City and United have begun the league campaign with three consecutive wins, but manager Pep Guardiola will now likely turn towards Nigerian teenager Kelechi Iheanacho in the absence of his first-choice striker.

Related - Guardiola: City can cope if Aguero's suspended for derby

Other options in attack for Guardiola could be deploying an attacking midfielder in something resembling a false nine role or, if he doesn't move before Wednesday's transfer deadline, fielding misfiring forward Wilfried Bony.

New signings Ilkay Gundogan and Leroy Sane are expected to be fit for the rivals' bout after overcoming respective knee and thigh issues.