LONDON: Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero will be out of action for just one month despite suffering a knee injury during the Premier League champions' 3-2 win over Southampton.

Aguero was stretchered off inside the opening 10 minutes at Eastlands on Sunday after twisting his knee in a challenge with Southampton defender Nathaniel Clyne and it was initially feared the 24-year-old Argentine could be sidelined for most of the season.

But, following a scan and a period of assessment, City manager Roberto Mancini has revealed Aguero, who scored his team's dramatic title-winning goal against QPR on the final day of last season, could be back in action in time for his team's league clash at Stoke on September 15.

While Mancini would prefer not to lose Aguero for any length of time, the Italian admits he is relieved to know his star striker, signed for 32 million pounds from Atletico Madrid last year, won't be out for as long as he first thought.

“I don't think Sergio will be out for long and we are hoping he will be back after the international break which is obviously fantastic news for him and for us,” Mancini told City's website.

“We were very worried a couple of days ago because we feared he could be out for six months or maybe even more which would have been very bad news.

“It looked like a very strange injury at the time and because it was his knee, we were obviously very concerned so this news is a relief for everybody.”