Sergio Aguero injured in car accident, confirms he suffered broken rib

Henry Bushnell
·Senior soccer reporter
Aguero (left) posted this photo with Colombian artist Maluma (right) on Instagram earlier Thursday evening. After Maluma’s concert, Aguero was reportedly injured in a car accident. (Photo: Sergio Aguero on Instagram)
Aguero (left) posted this photo with Colombian artist Maluma (right) on Instagram earlier Thursday evening. After Maluma’s concert, Aguero was reportedly injured in a car accident. (Photo: Sergio Aguero on Instagram)

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero was injured in a car accident Thursday night in Holland. But despite early reports that the Argentine was set to spend two months out due to injuries suffered in the crash, reports late Friday night suggested Aguero could return in less than a month.

Aguero confirmed Friday evening that he was “fine,” but that he had sustained a fractured rib:

Aguero also tweeted that his seat belt saved him from more severe injuries.

Aguero was in Amsterdam on an off day to attend a concert headlined by Colombian singer Maluma. He was in a taxi on his way to the airport for his flight back to Manchester when the taxi crashed into a lamppost. He was taken to a local hospital, where he stayed overnight.

A Dutch journalist tweeted pictures of the accident scene:

Video of the scene also emerged:

Aguero flew back to Manchester on Friday, where he was examined by club doctors, who confirmed the broken rib diagnosis.

City manager Pep Guardiola confirmed that Aguero will miss Saturday’s clash with Chelsea. Multiple reports suggested Aguero could miss around two months. The two-month timetable would have ruled him out for seven or eight Premier League matches, including Saturday’s at Chelsea and a Nov. 5 game against Arsenal.

But the two-to-four-week timetable reported late Friday would mean Aguero may miss just one Premier League fixture, the trip to Chelsea. It also means he could return for an Oct. 17 Champions League showdown with Napoli.

But Aguero will almost surely miss Argentina’s decisive World Cup qualifiers against Peru (Oct. 5) and Ecuador (Oct. 10). Argentina currently sits in fifth place in CONMEBOL with two matches remaining. Only the top four qualify directly; the fifth-place finisher can qualify by beating New Zealand in a playoff.

Aguero had been in fine form for City. He had tallied seven goals in all competitions, including six in the Premier League, which City leads after six games with five wins and one draw.

The Citizens also learned Thursday that £50 million left back Benjamin Mendy had torn his ACL and will likely miss most, if not all, of the remainder of the season.

Guardiola, speaking Friday at his weekly press conference, said he had no problem with Aguero traveling to the Netherlands on his day off.

“The players need to rest mentally and physically, so they can enjoy their lives,” Guardiola said. “We have enough rules.”

Aguero tweeted a message of thanks to fans Friday evening:

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Henry Bushnell covers soccer – the U.S. national teams, the Premier League, and much, much more – for FC Yahoo and Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Question? Comment? Email him at henrydbushnell@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @HenryBushnell.