Pep Guardiola will not rush Sergio Aguero back into action to solve Manchester City's crisis of confidence in front of goal.
The Blues have found the back of the net just 10 times in eight Premier League games this season and have scored five goals in their last six league fixtures, having slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham on Saturday.
Aguero was back on the bench in North London but the Argentine wasn't used and Guardiola intends to take no chances with a player who has missed 22 of City's previous 25 games through injury.
The 32-year-old suffered a knee injury early into the resumption of last season in June and although he returned to feature against Arsenal, Porto and West Ham in October, he picked up a hamstring problem in the last of those games which has kept him sidelined until now.
Aguero has missed games through injury on eight occasions since the start of the 2017/18 season and Guardiola is aware he needs to treat his latest return with caution with a punishing schedule ahead of the Blues this season.
"I'm not going to say we don't need Sergio, we need him," he said after City's defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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"But Sergio is 32 and was five months injured with a difficult and dangerous injury. He came back, he played 50 minutes and 55 and got injured again.
"We want it and I want Sergio fit because I know how important he is for us, what he has done in the Premier League. But we have to be careful, to not get knocked back again and injured again and you have to see the right moment to put him back in the side.
"Hopefully it can be soon and maintain the regularity to play games."