Fabian Delph faces a further two weeks on the sidelines and is set to miss Manchester City's clash with champions Chelsea next Sunday.
The England international's competitive debut could come at Everton on Aug. 23 as manager Manuel Pellegrini revealed he will sit out their opening two Premier League games of the season.
The £8 million midfielder, who joined from Aston Villa, was injured less than 20 minutes into his preseason debut, the 4-1 defeat to Real Madrid in Melbourne, and will not feature at West Bromwich Albion on Monday.
Pellegrini explained in a news conference: "I think he needs 15 days more. That will be a month from the injury he got in preseason. He played just 17 minutes but you saw in those 17 minutes that he will be an important player for this club."
Pellegrini expects to see some youthful faces in his group this season.
They have spent an initial £5 million on Fulham forward Patrick Roberts while Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho, who is a graduate of their youth system, and Spanish midfielder Manu Garcia are others who he believes could have a big future.
"We have three or four important young players that will soon be an important part of our squad," he added. "I'm talking about Kelechi, Manu Garcia, Roberts, important players who will do well in our squad."