Why Abdukodir Khusanov is not playing for Man City against Brentford today | OneFootball

Key defender was omitted from matchday squad in must-win game

Abdukodir Khusanov was forced to sit out Manchester City’s must-win clash against Brentford on Saturday in a fresh injury blow to the Premier League title contenders.

Pep Guardiola had become reliant on the young Uzbekistan international as one of his first-choice central defenders, with Khusanov excelling alongside January recruit Marc Guehi.

However, the 22-year-old was missing from the starting XI against Keith Andrews’ Europe-chasing Bees at the Etihad Stadium, with City needing to win the contest to close the gap on Arsenal in the title race.

City confirmed ahead of kick off that Khusanov was missing after picking up a “knock in a painful area” in the 3-3 draw at Everton on Monday, as Guardiola’s men spurned the opportunity to pile the pressure on the Gunners at the top of the table.

It remains to be seen whether Khusanov will be out for the remainder of the campaign.

City were handed a double boost on Friday when Guardiola confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol, his go-to central defensive duo in the first half of the campaign, had returned to training from their respective injuries.

Dias had been out with a niggling ankle issue for a number of weeks, while the Croatian international Gvardiol had been sidelined since January with a broken leg that he suffered in the draw against Chelsea just after the new year.

Guardiola also said that he hoped Rodri would return for the Brentford game, but the Spaniard was not included in the squad on Saturday.