City’s summer signing put so much into a fruitless goal attempt during the 3-3 draw at Bolton on Saturday that his full-blooded airshot resulted in him hyper-extending his knee.
The big defender’s knee locked due to a floating piece of bone that came loose in the joint, and he was said to be in such pain at the start of the week that he could barely walk.
Joleon had a ten-minute operation to remove the rogue chip of bone and will start his recovery programme in a couple of weeks after a precautionary delay for natural wear and tear on the knee.
Wednesday night’s defeat at White Hart Lane was the first game he had missed since arriving from Everton and making his debut in the 2-0 Carling Cup victory at Crystal Palace in August.
Manager Mark Hughes, already without Ivory Coast centre-half Kolo Toure during January, hopes Lescott will be back in five to six weeks but could move for a defender in the transfer window.
