Kevin de Bruyne has been ruled out of Manchester City's clash with Aston Villa on Wednesday as the Premier League leaders wait to discover the full extent of his foot and ankle injury.
The Belgium playmaker was substituted in the second half of his side's FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea.
On Monday, City said they will continue to assess De Bruyne, but did not put a timeline on his recovery.
In a short statement, the club said: "Manchester City can confirm that Kevin de Bruyne suffered injury to his right foot and ankle in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea.
"The extent of the problem is not yet known. Kevin will continue to be reviewed but will miss Wednesday's Premier League trip to Aston Villa. We will bring you further updates on his condition in due course."
Despite losing to Chelsea, Pep Guardiola's side are still fighting on three fronts.
They hold an eight-point lead over Manchester United in the league and face Tottenham in the final of the League Cup at Wembley on Sunday before the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain next week.
De Bruyne, 29, has scored eight times in his 32 appearances for City this season.
Chelsea v Manchester City ratings
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CHELSEA RATINGS: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 7. Might have been nervy on his return to the side, so would have been grateful to have mainly powder puff shots from distance to field. Reuters -

Cesar Azpilicueta – 5. His cheap giveaway allowed a City break early on, and he got lucky later, too, with a miss-kick in his own box. Got away with a soft header straight after. Reuters -

Thiago Silva – 7. His positioning was so good he barely broke sweat, and he had his Brazilian compatriot Jesus in his pocket throughout. EPA -

Antonio Rudiger – 8. More frenetic and all-action than his centre-half partner Silva, but just as effective. Made crucial interceptions in stoppage time. Reuters -

Reece James – 7. Picked out the other wing back Chilwell with a fine cross from which Chelsea should have led. Cautioned for a foul on Fernandinho. EPA -

Jorginho – 8. Controlled the tempo as Chelsea had the better of the first half, and played a key role in setting up the goal. Reuters -

N'Golo Kante – 7. City’s celebrated midfield found a Kante-shaped roadblock in their way whenever they tried to advance through the middle of the field. AFP -

Ben Chilwell – 7. Skewed a volley wide when well placed from a James cross, but was diligent in defence when he was needed. AFP -

Hakim Ziyech – 8. Had an early goal ruled out after Werner was offside in the build up, but opened the scoring in almost identical circumstances in the second half. AFP -

Timo Werner – 7. Lacked conviction when bearing on goal, and loose in possession at times, but he did provide the assist for Ziyech. AP -

Mason Mount – 6. His face appeared to be grazed slightly by a boot from Fernandinho in an early contretemps. It briefly sparked him, but he was flagging by the second half. Getty -

SUBSTITUTES: Christian Pulisic – 7. Had the ball in the net in injury time after a sharp finish, only for it to be chalked off for offside. Getty -

Kurt Zouma – NA. Manned the battlements for the final few moments after coming on for Silva, who went off with a back injury. Kai Havertz – NA. On for his compatriot Werner late in the second half, and had no time to shine. AFP -

MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Zack Steffen – 5. Caught in no-man’s land to present an open goal for Ziyech to score. Made a block on the same player shortly after. AP -

Joao Cancelo – 6. Played a neat reverse pass for Foden to cross as City hinted at finding their swagger at the start of the second phase, but his positive contributions were few otherwise. AFP -

Ruben Dias – 5. Lost his bearings a couple of times to allow Ziyech to ghost into space, and was generally under par throughout. Header over when well placed to score. PA -

Aymeric Laporte – 6. Slid in to block off Werner just after the half-hour mark. Booked in injury time for a foul on Azpilicueta. EPA -

Benjamin Mendy – 5. Untroubled in defence, but could not provide the attacking thrust City needed as they chased the game. Getty -

Rodrigo – 6. Pinched a pass from Azpilicueta to set up a rare early break for City, but otherwise was getting the run around as Chelsea started well. PA -

Fernandinho – 7. Twice escaped censure for recklessness against Mount, against a side he has twice been sent off against before. Tried to rally his side in the second half. PA -

Kevin de Bruyne – 6. Jarred his ankle when vying for the ball with Kante, and was quickly withdrawn. Worrying, given City’s schedule coming up. AP -

Ferran Torres – 6. Looked disconsolate when he was taken off and replaced by Gundogan, but his influence had been minimal. AP -

Raheem Sterling – 4. Too often he was loose and imprecise when his side needed better. His side need him back to his best ASAP, given what follows. AFP -

Gabriel Jesus – 5. No change out of his Brazil colleague Silva, and typified City’s lukewarm effort. Getty -

SUBSTITUTES: Phil Foden – 8. On for the injured De Bruyne early in the second half, and looked a class apart from everyone else in sky blue. AFP -

Ilkay Gundogan – 7. Added some impetus once he was introduced in the second half, but could not do enough to get City back into it. Getty
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Name: Qyubic
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Sector: E-commerce
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