Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero expects to be out of action for a month with a hamstring injury sustained on international duty which the Argentinian Football Association (AFA) have diagnosed as a grade-two muscle tear.
Aguero, 27, was carried off on a stretcher after sustaining the problem to his left leg midway through the first half of the World Cup qualifier against Ecuador in Buenos Aires which the home side lost 2-0.
Aguero, who scored five goals in City's 6-1 Premier League win over Newcastle before the international break, told reporters upon leaving a clinic in the capital on Friday: "I think I'll be a month without playing.
"I'll go to the AFA national team compound to carry on with treatment. To recover from the tear I'll surely need a month although it will depend how it evolves.
"I'd been playing very frequently and was in doubt [for Thursday's match] until the last minute but as a player you always want to be there and never know what can happen."
The AFA confirmed in a statement: "The studies we did today show that Sergio Aguero has a grade-two muscle tear."
#Eliminatorias PARTE MEDICO: @aguerosergiokun sufrió un desgarro grado II en el bíceps femoral de la pierna izquierda.
- Selección Argentina (@Argentina) October 9, 2015
The statement did how say how long Aguero would be sidelined. But the injury will be a worry for both City and Argentina, who host Brazil in Buenos Aires on Nov. 13 in a key qualifier.
Aguero is Argentina's fourth highest all-time scorer and his absence comes at a bad time for his country, with Lionel Messi expected to be sidelined until late November with an injured left knee.
City, meanwhile, could be without their star striker for as many as seven matches, including their Champions League double-header against Sevilla and a derby trip away at Manchester United.