Manchester City reveal new midfielder fitness concern ahead of Swansea clash | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola’s side take on Swansea in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday night in a tie in South Wales this week.

The latest fixture arrives amid a congested period in Manchester City’s ongoing season, with Pep Guardiola continuing to rotate his squad in a bid to manage workloads and avoid further injury setbacks.

Manchester City have already navigated an intense sequence of domestic and European fixtures, and the Carabao Cup offers a valuable opportunity for several fringe players and academy prospects to step up.

In recent weeks, Pep Guardiola has been forced to adapt to fluctuating fitness levels within his midfield. The Catalan’s options have been stretched due to various knocks and lingering muscle issues across the squad, prompting tactical flexibility and increased opportunities for players such as Divine Mukasa.

City’s focus will not only be on securing progression to the quarter-finals this week, but also maintaining rhythm and squad balance ahead of upcoming fixtures in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League, whilst returning to winning ways following the weekend’s 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa.

But, as Manchester City confirmed their line-up for the meeting with the Championship side and 10 changes made to the side that started against Villa on Sunday afternoon, a new fitness concern was confirmed for their midfield ranks.

With Mateo Kovacic not in the matchday squad, and the midfielder replaced by Kalvin Phillips for the night, the Club confirmed that the Croatia international had been deemed as ‘not fully fit’ for the encounter.

Kovacic, ruled out through a lack of fitness, joined the likes of Erling Haaland, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, and Tijjani Reijnders in securing themselves an evening off from competitive duties for Pep Guardiola’s squad.

One notable inclusion in the line-up was Nico Gonzalez, who starts for Manchester City exactly a week on from limping out of action in the UEFA Champions League away to Villarreal in Eastern Spain.

Mateo Kovacic’s absence will raise mild concern among City supporters, given the midfielder’s growing importance in Manchester City’s evolving midfield structure, and particularly in a covering role while Rodri’s fitness is managed.

The 31-year-old has been gradually finding rhythm in Pep Guardiola’s system this season, and any further setbacks could impact his availability for the upcoming Premier League fixtures such as Bournemouth on Sunday.

Manchester City are expected to assess Kovacic’s fitness in the coming days before determining whether he can feature in their next league match against the Cherries at the Etihad Stadium.

With a busy November schedule approaching and a final international break of the calendar year, Pep Guardiola’s rotation strategy will likely continue, especially in midfield areas where competition for minutes remains fierce.