Manchester City's Kyle Walker hit with three-game Champions League ban

Manchester City right-back Kyle Walker has been handed a three-game Champions League ban, following his 'assault' in their final group stage fixture.

Having already qualified for the last 16 as Group A winner, the Citizens lost 2-1 away at RB Leipzig last month in their sixth and final group encounter, in which Walker was sent off for needlessly lashing out at Andre Silva in the 82nd minute.

UEFA's disciplinary board held a meeting on Tuesday to assess each disciplinary case, and they came to the decision to ban the 31-year-old for the next three matches in European competition.

Walker was initially handed a one-game suspension; however, UEFA have since upgraded his ban to three matches for what their regulations state as an 'assault'.

The England international will now miss the first and second-leg ties of City's last-16 clash with Sporting Lisbon, which will take place on February 15 and March 9 respectively.

Walker would also miss the first leg of their quarter-final clash, should Pep Guardiola's men come out on top against the Portuguese giants.

Joao Cancelo is the most likely candidate to start at right-back in Walker's absence, while Oleksandr Zinchenko and Nathan Ake are set to battle for a place at left-back.