The Brazilian playmaker was closely marked by former City midfielder Michael Brown in Saturday's 0-0 draw against Wigan.
A late tackle by Brown ultimately forced Elano off at the start of the second half with a thigh injury and he is struggling to recover in time for this Saturday's trip to Reading.
Sven accepts it is only natural that Elano is coming under close attention having had such an impact after moving to the Premier League last summer.
But the Blues' boss insists that is not the only recent for City's downturn in form over the last couple of months.
"That may be too simple," he told the City website. "I remember the games from early this season when he was allowed to do his thing, but there was no chance of that against Wigan.
"Sides make sure they stay close to him, and the treatment they give him is not the nicest, but it's another thing that both the team and Elano himself have to live with because he is too good a player to be left alone.
"He took a knock from Brown in the first half, then when he tried a diagonal ball in the second half he felt a muscle pushing a little bit.
"We don't know how bad it is, but the muscle has not 'gone' as such so it's not a serious injury. But for next weekend I don't know yet."