Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez out for three to four weeks with hamstring injury

Carlos Tevez, Manchester City

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Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has confirmed that Carlos Tevez will miss the upcoming game against Manchester United, maintaining that the striker is expected to be out for up to a month.

The Argentine sustained a hamstring injury during the recent 3-0 defeat to Liverpool, and had to be replace after only a little over 15 minutes of play – with Mario Balotelli coming on in place of the injured skipper.

Now the Italian boss has confirmed that the former West Ham United man will be out of action for “three or four weeks”.

“Tevez is not available for Saturday,” Mancini said.

“I think he will recover in three or four weeks. It is a big problem but we can’t take any risks.”

Apart from the blockbuster clash against United, Tevez is also expected to miss the games against Blackburn Rovers, West Ham United and Everton, and could even miss the clashes against Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City.

“After this game we have another six, so hopefully we have him for the last two or three matches,” said the former Inter boss.

“Every player knows this is an important moment for the club.”

Concerning the game against Sir Alex Ferguson’s men, Mancini maintained that he has not yet arrived at a decision as to whether Balotelli or Edin Dzeko will replace the injured Tevez.

“I have not decided the first XI, we have another 48 hours,” he said. “Mario, or Edin, or both players – they both have an important chance. I trust my players.”

For now, however, the manager believes that a semi-final appearance is a cause for celebration, as the Eastlands outfit have gone well over three decades without any major silverware.

Mancini said: “We should be happy because for this club it’s been a long time since we made the semi-finals. We have a good chance.

“I think the fans should be happy for our situation and for this game but we need to concentrate and focus. it’s a semi final, it’s very important but we know it’s a difficult game.”