Evening Standard
·31 October 2024
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·31 October 2024
Pep Guardiola makes worrying admission as problems mount
Manchester City are dealing with a number of injury complaints as the fixtures pile up thick and fast.
Pep Guardiola has claimed he only has “13 players” available and is “in trouble” following Wednesday's Carabao Cup defeat to Tottenham.
City travel to Bournemouth on Saturday before making the journey to Sporting CP in the Champions League next week. They then go to Brighton before the international break and Guardiola has made little secret at his concern about their mounting injury problems.
With that in mind, here’s a look at the latest Manchester City injuries…
Summer signing Savinho has impressed during his first season at the club but may have seen his progress derailed after he was stretchered off during the defeat to Spurs.
Speaking after the game, Guardiola said: “He had a knock in the 18-yard box, potential penalty, and we'll see tomorrow what happened... We have to see if it just a knock or something else, because it was on the bone. Hopefully it's nothing dangerous, but we'll see [on Thursday].”
Potential return date: Unknown
Josko Gvardiol required attention after the game too but Guardiola offered no update on how serious the issue was.
Potential return date: Unknown
Fellow defender Manuel Akankji was replaced in the starting XI after pulling up in the warm-up but Guardiola suggested it was more of a precautionary measure.
“Akanji yesterday, I didn’t know it, in the last action felt something miniscule in the muscular part of his body and today in the warm-up he didn’t feel good,” he said.
“He said he could take a risk but we said no.”
Potential return date: Unknown
Kevin De Bruyne has not played since September and Guardiola revealed before the Spurs game that the Belgian would not return before the international break later this month.
Kevin De Bruyne has endured an injury-hit season at Manchester City
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"He feels better to train but to go to the level we need for competition he still has pain,” said the City boss.
"If he doesn't come back as quick as possible we will struggle. Hopefully that can happen after the international break."
Potential return date: November/December 2024
Jack Grealish has not played since the late win over Wolves earlier this month and Guardiola said there was “no chance” he could play in the next few games.
Potential return date: November/December 2024
Kyle Walker has been dealing with a knee injury since the international break and, like Grealish, is not expected to feature over the next few games.
Potential return date: November/December 2024
Jeremy Doku also hasn’t played since the Wolves win and Guardiola suggested the winger was facing a little “longer” than Grealish on the sidelines, albeit it remains unclear as to whether or not that has changed.
Potential return date: Unknown
Oscar Bobb was being tipped for a big breakout season this time around but a leg injury sustained before a ball was kicked is likely to rule him out until January or February.
Potential return date: January/February 2025
Ballon d’Or winner Rodri underwent surgery on a serious knee injury last month and is not expected to play at all this season.
Potential return date: Summer 2025