Mario Balotelli's stop-start campaign with Manchester City continues with a month out to cure a recurring knee injury. Since his transfer from Inter Milan the striker has been injured and suspended limiting the amount of time he has spent out on the pitch.
Ironically, the 20 year olds latest injury came during the Aston Villa game when he scored a hat-trick and he has been told to rest in order to make a full recovery.
There had been fears surgery would be necessary but Balotelli's agent has confirmed this is not the case.
And agent Mino Raiola told Sky Italia: "At the moment, we are excluding surgery.
"We are doing deep scans, but for the moment we have ruled out the possibility of the player going under the knife."
Raiola also dismissed speculation that Balotelli will soon be moving to the San Siro to join AC Milan.
He said: "The attacking trio of (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic, (Antonio) Cassano and Balotelli at Milan? It's a dream at this moment.
"Could it be done in the summer? I doubt it. Mario feels good at City and I expect him to remain at Eastlands."
