The reason why two Manchester City defenders missed City’s Liverpool rout has been revealed | OneFootball

Not a lot went wrong for Manchester City on Saturday as they booked themselves an FA Cup semi-final date with Southampton at Wembley with a 4-0 win over Liverpool. A hat trick from Erling Haaland and a quality Antoine Semenyo goal were more than enough for City to see off an impotent Liverpool side. Coming out of the match, the biggest concern for City were that Ruben Dias and John Stones weren’t included in Manchester City’s matchday squad for the FA Cup quarter-final tie. City assistant manager Pep Lijnders explained that the pair have injury concerns and that is why they missed Manchester City’s emphatic win.

Pep Lijnders has revealed why Ruben Dias and John Stones missed Manchester City’s win over Liverpool.

Manchester City assistant manager Pep Lijnders explained why Ruben Dias missed Manchester City’s 4-0 win over Liverpool. Lijnders explained that Dias picked up a knock in training last Friday. He also revealed that John Stones isn’t expected to be out for a significant period of time due to the calf injury he sustained on international duty. Speaking on the pair’s fitness, Pep Lijnders explained: “Ruben got a knock in the last few minutes of training. We are assessing it. I think he has a scan so we will have to see.”

“John will not be long term, I think, but he was not available for today.”

There is time for John Stones and Ruben Dias to recover before Manchester City face Chelsea.

With Manchester City out of the Champions League for this season, they don’t play again until next Sunday. Pep Guardiola’s side will face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next in a must-win Premier League fixture for them. By virtue of City having no Champions League match to prepare for, there is time for John Stones and Ruben Dias to recover from their ailments. Manchester City would prefer to be in the Champions League, there is no doubt about that. Having a week between matches does allow Dias and Stones time to recover from their injuries.

John Stones and Ruben Dias both Manchester City’s win over Liverpool due to injury. Stones injury doesn’t seem to be serious based on Pep Lijnders explanation. City are awaiting confirmation on the severity of the injury sustained by Ruben Dias. Despite this, City have time to prepare for their next match against Chelsea which does give the time pair to recover.