Belgium central defender tore his groin against Newcastle in August.
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Manchester City face the prospect of taking on arch-rivals Manchester United in the Premier League later this month with a severely depleted defence, according to reports in the Daily Mail.
The big-spending top-flight outfit saw key captain Vincent Kompany hobble off with a groin injury in their season-opening 4-0 drubbing of Newcastle United in the Premier League at Eastlands last month.
However, initially it was thought that the highly rated Belgian international would only be out of action for between two and four weeks, meaning that Kompany would be back in time to take his place at the heart of City’s back four for the clash against the Premier League champions on Sept 22.
But that prognosis has appeared misguided, with reports coming out of the club now suggesting that the centre-back will not be back in action until October, meaning that new City head coach Manuel Pellegrini is facing a potential crisis at the back when he takes on the Red Devils.
The experienced Chilean did manage to sign Argentina international Martin Demichelis from La Liga outfit Atletico Madrid as cover for Kompany just before the summer transfer window closed for business on Sept 2, only for the central defender to then suffer a knee ligament injury in training.
All of which leaves City with just Matija Nastasic and Joleon Lescott as their only fit and recognised defenders for the immediate future, with midfielder Javi Garcia having filled in there for a few recent games.