Tevez will miss away trips to Molineux and Poland

Manchester City's Carlos Tevez will miss Saturday's Premier League match at Wolves and next week's Europa League tie at Lech Poznan because of injury.

The Argentine was substituted during Sunday's 3-0 Premier League defeat by Arsenal after suffering a dead leg.

Tests revealed swelling and internal bleeding around his knee and thigh.

City boss Roberto Mancini has given the striker permission to fly home while he recuperates, saying: "Now he is in Argentina because of a family problem."

Earlier this week, City forward Roque Santa Cruz said Tevez was homesick and wanted to leave the club, but Mancini has denied these claims.

606: DEBATE We won at Wolves 3-0 last December in Mancini's second match in charge but I think this one might be a bit trickier. dazlingdublinblue

"He never said anything like this to me but this is normal if you are a foreign player in a different country away from your family for a long time," added Mancini.

"But Carlos has a job here and he does a fantastic job for us. He will come back on Monday morning and he will be available against West Brom next weekend."

In Tevez's absence, Mario Balotelli and Emmanuel Adebayor are likely to lead City's attack.

Former Inter Milan striker Balotelli picked up a knee injury on his City debut against Timisoara in August but came off the bench in the second half against Arsenal last weekend.

Rumours have been circulating that a frustrated Balotelli might be looking to return to Italy, although quotes attributed to the player's agent appeared in the media this week indicating he was happy at City.

Asked for his reaction to that news, Mancini said: "I think Mario must start to play here - this is the first thing. It is very important for us.

"He played for 20 minutes against Arsenal. He is a good player and I think he will be a very important player for us this season."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version