Micah Richards could be out for four months after requiring knee surgery

Manchester City defender Micah Richards has had knee surgery after he was injured against Swansea on Saturday and he could be out for up to four months.

Injury worries for City

The loss of Richards leaves Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini short of options on the right-hand side of his defence in the short term. Pablo Zabaleta and Maicon are already sidelined with hamstring and foot problems respectively, although both are due to return soon. Kolo Toure replaced Richards on Saturday, but the Ivory Coast international is not registered in City's Champions League squad. Richards added: "I felt I was doing OK. We beat Sunderland, West Brom and Swansea, and kept two clean sheets in those three games, so things were going well in the Premier League. "I am sure the lads will continue that run of form and I will look forward to getting stuck into the title defence as soon as possible when I return. "Everyone has their opinion about how we have started but the league table looks pretty good."