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Manchester: Manchester City defender Micah Richards has been sidelined for eight weeks after undergoing knee surgery. The right back had sustained an injury on his right knee during City's 1-0 defeat of Swansea City on Saturday.

Richards damaged the meniscus cartilage of his right knee and underwent immediate surgery to mend a torn knee cartilage. The defender was carried off in a stretcher deep in to the second half of the match. The 24-year-old will miss the crucial Premier League fixture against Manchester United on 9 December and City's last three Champions League group fixtures, but the club is confident that the right back will be fit to return before the New Year.

"City are relieved more than anything," a source close to the club told Goal.com. "There was real concern that Micah had damaged his cruciate ligament so for it to be nothing more than a couple of months out is the best they could have hoped for."

The England international will be at Carrington training complex next week for his rehabilitation programme with Argentine Pablo Zabaleta set to return to for City ahead of the Premier League game against West Ham on Saturday.