Why Isn't Pep Guardiola on the Sidelines for Manchester City?

While the players understandably get most of the hype, there's a good coach or manager behind every soccer team. And, on a global scale, it's tough to get any better than Pep Guardiola. Even if you want to contend that he's only managed clubs with a wealth of resources at his disposal, the Spaniard has revolutionized soccer and piled up plenty of trophies along the way.

That makes his absence from the Manchester City sideline in the U.K.'s Premier League rather conspicuous.

What's being the absence? Is there some disciplinary issue that's slipped under the radar? Or is something else at play?

Guardiola is recovering from emergency surgery

Unfortunately, injuries are simply a reality of professional sports. Guardiola may have hung up his uniform and headed to the sidelines, but even he can't escape that reality.

"Pep Guardiola has today undergone a routine operation on a back problem," the team said Tuesday in a statement. "The Manchester City boss has been suffering with severe back pain for some time lately, and flew out to Barcelona for emergency surgery performed by Dr. Mireia Illueca. The surgery was a success, and Pep will now recover and rehabilitate in Barcelona."

As you might expect, that will keep him out of action during the recovery process.

Who will take charge of Manchester City?

Without knowing the specifics of Guardiola's injury, it's tough to know exactly what his recovery will entail and how that will affect his work.

It's possible that he'll continue to lead his team from afar, at least in a limited capacity. As shown on Amazon's All or Nothing, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta addressed his players via Zoom after testing positive for COVID-19, so it's reasonable to believe that Pep could do something similar or, at the very worst, provide his input via text message or email.

Taking to the sidelines and actively managing a match, however, will be a bridge too far, at least at first.

"Assistant manager Juanma Lillo will oversee coaching of the first team on the training field and will assume duties on the touchline until Pep's return," Manchester City said.

When will Guardiola return?

As any sports fan will tell you, trying to speculate about an injury-related timeline is a recipe for disappointment. In this case, though, Manchester City provided an approximate timeline.

In the statement, the club said that Guardiola "is expected to return after the forthcoming international break." That break will arrive after Premier League Matchday 4 (September 1-3). Manchester City, and potentially Guardiola, will return to action on September 16.

Manchester City shouldn't miss a beat

At the risk of seeming to devalue the importance of a manager, Manchester City shouldn't be too worried about Guardiola's absence. Not only is the club stacked with talent—you don't win the treble (the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League last season) by accident—but the upcoming schedule also works out favorably.

On August 27, City will face off against Sheffield United. While anything can happen in the Premier League, the defending champions shouldn't need any groundbreaking tactics to defeat a newly promoted side. The following weekend will feature a date with Fulham; that matchup could be trickier, but the Cottagers haven't gotten off to a flying start following the sale of Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Is Manchester City, which has won the league championship three consecutive years and five of the last six, guaranteed to accumulate all six points from those two games? Of course not, but you'd rather face Sheffield United and Fulham without Guardiola than Arsenal and Manchester United.