Manchester United 1-0 Manchester City: Joe Hart and Raheem Sterling out for at least a month says Pellegrini

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed the star duo of Raheem Sterling and Joe Hart will be out of action for a month after both players picked up injuries during their 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at the Etihad on 20 March. The former Liverpool winger was replaced in the first-half due to a groin injury, while the goalkeeper was stretchered off the field following a calf injury after the break.

"Muscle injuries are never less than a month," Pellegrini told Sky Sports after the match.

"I don't think you can recover from a muscle injury in one week, normally it takes three or four weeks so I don't think they can play."

Sterling and Hart now join captain Vincent Kompany, defender Nicolas Otamendi, Kevin De Bruyne, Fabian Delph and Samir Nasri in City's treatment room.

Marcus Rashford's first-half goal was the difference between the two sides and that helped Louis van Gaal's side to walk away with three points. Despite the defeat, City are still fourth in the table with 51 points after 30 games, one point ahead of fifth place West Ham and sixth place United.

With eight games left in the 2015/16 season, the former Real Madrid manager has urged his players to bounce back from the defeat and finish the season on a high. He said, "We continue in fourth position. We have to play for another 24 points. We must be focused on the next game."

"I am not unhappy with the performance of the team. We had 26 attempts on their goal and we dominated the game but missed chances to score."

"It is not the best way to finish the season. But I am happy with the players' attitude. They are all focused and they want to finish as near to the top as possible.

"We have another 24 points to play for and every game is different. United did not play better than us. It was a mistake in the lead up to the first goal. I don't remember a lot of chances United had — they had just one after the goal."