ILKAY GUNDOGAN arrives in Manchester hobbling on crutches and admits he will miss the start of next season.
The £21million first signing of Pep Guardiola’s City reign wore a brace on his right knee as he took a tour of the club’s football academy.
The ex-Borussia Dortmund midfielder, 25, is missing the Euros after dislocating his knee in training in May.
And he revealed he will not be fighting fit for the start of the 2016-17 campaign, possibly throwing off course Guardiola’s bid for a rapid start to a Premier League tilt.
Gundogan said: “I hope to be fit by the end of August or first week of September.
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“You can’t be absolutely sure and we gauge it week-by-week but that’s my target and if everything goes to plan it will be August.
“I may miss a couple of matches but that’s fine because I want to be ready for when I play my first game.”
Gundogan appears to be some way off resuming training, admitting that his crutches stopped him taking a full tour of the £200m academy.
But he gave the Sky Blues faithful plenty to be excited about by lapping up comparisons to former Barcelona and Spain icon Xavi.
He said: "When I was young I loved the football of Barcelona, especially the football of Xavi and Iniesta in midfield.
"Xavi is in Qatar now and he is close to retiring but I love the way he played. Some people say I'm similar to him.
"I hope in the next years I will be as successful as him and win a lot of titles with Manchester City."
Rivals United, under the charge of Guardiola's nemesis Jose Mourinho, will stand in their way.
And Gundogan admitted the Manchester derby is a game he is relishing the thought of, along with playing mate Mesut Ozil at Arsenal... and, curiously, Stoke.
Asked what he's looking forward to, the 16-cap Germany star said: "Of course the derby. Also the games against Arsenal will be interesting against my friend Mesut Ozil.
"These two games will be really nice but also the experience of the Premier League - clubs like Stoke City, who are not so far away."
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