The 24-year-old suffered a knee injury in the 3-2 season opening win over Southampton on Sunday.

"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," manager Roberto Mancini told the club'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."