Gabriel Jesus undergoes surgery on right foot, out 2-3 months

Manchester City shared a sliver of good news in an otherwise unfortunate situation Friday, announcing that newcomer Gabriel Jesus has undergone surgery on the fractured metatarsal bone of his right foot in a hospital in Barcelona.

City manager Pep Guardiola provided a timeline for Jesus' recovery, ruling the Brazilian forward out for anywhere between "two and three months." As a result, Jesus is now expected to miss three key upcoming Premier League fixtures against Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea in March and April.

"Last night, he made an operation and it was good," Guardiola said, as quoted by City's official website. "Now it’s important he recovers well and he's going back when he will be fit, at the end of the season or next season."

The surgery is an unfortunate twist to a story that started so brightly, as the Brazilian, who completed a reported £27-million move from Palmeiras in January, impressed during his first few weeks with City, scoring three times in three league matches and displacing Sergio Aguero from the starting lineup.

But with Jesus ruled out, Guardiola will turn once more to Aguero.

"He was from the beginning of the season, not just these three games, playing always good - not just Sergio, all the players," Guardiola said of the Argentine striker.

"He showed in the last minutes against Swansea, for example, or in the last game at Bournemouth after the injury from Gabriel where he came in and played good and scored a goal.

"I don't have doubts about the quality because it was always there.

"I am not expecting Gabriel to do what Sergio does and I am not going to ask Sergio to do what Gabriel did.

"Every player has his quality. Just go there, play as best as possible, and that's all. Gabriel has his own qualities and Sergio has his own qualities."