Ilkay Gundogan hobbled into Manchester City on Monday for a tour of the club wearing a knee brace and walking on crutches.
Gundogan completed a £21m move from Borussia Dortmund earlier this month despite dislocating his kneecap in training in May.
Pep Guardiola's first signing was expected to be sidelined for a large chunk of the pre-season when he signed, but there was an outside chance that he would be fit for the new campaign.
However, the German international dashed hopes that he would be fit for Guardiola's first game in charge when he spoke to City's official website.
"I hope to be fit by the end of August or first week of September," said the 25-year-old on mcfc.co.uk.
"You can't be absolutely sure and we gauge it week-by-week but that's my target and if everything goes to plan it will be August.
"I may miss a couple of matches but that's fine because I want to be ready for when I play my first game."
Gundogan revealed he is looking forward to playing in the Manchester derby where Guardiola will lock horns with former La Liga rival Jose Mourinho and coming up against Arsenal striker and Germany team-mate Mesut Ozil.
"Of course, the derby," added Gundogan. "Also, the games against Arsenal will be interesting against my friend Mesut Ozil.
"These two games will be really nice, but also the total experience of Premier League - clubs like Stoke City, who are not so far away."