A Manchester City midfielder faces another spell on the sidelines | OneFootball

Mateo Kovacic has endured a frustrating start to the 25/26 season. The Croatian midfielder had surgery on a troublesome Achilles injury at the end of last season. He made a late start to the 25/26 season as he recovered from that surgery. So far this season, he has made two appearances off the bench for Manchester City, and has only played 37 minutes all season. It has been a frustrating campaign to date for Kovacic.

To make matters worse for the Croatian international, he is now set for another spell on the sidelines, as revealed by Pep Guardiola following Manchester City’s win over Bournemouth on Sunday. Mateo Kovacic has suffered an ankle injury, which will rule him out for an extended period.

Manchester City will be without Mateo Kovacic for the foreseeable future.

Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Mateo Kovacic has suffered an ankle injury. Speaking after his team’s win over Bournemouth at the Etihad on Sunday, he informed the media: “He will be out for a while. He still has a problem with the ankle, a little calcification still there. We’ll wait on him for the last part of the season.”

There is now depth in the City squad in midfield to cover the loss of Mateo Kovacic.

It is frustrating for Mateo Kovacic to be sidelined for another prolonged period. He has a role to play in this City squad in midfield. With Rodri back fit, and Nico coming on in leaps and bounds, Kovacic can play his familiar number eight role when he is fit. But that won’t occur for some time based on Pep Guardiola’s update.

Fortunately for Manchester City, they are well stocked with options in midfield. Bernardo Silva, Tijjani Reijnders, Phil Foden, Nico, Rodri, Rayan Cherki and Rico Lewis are all quality midfield options for Pep Guardiola to utilise. There is plenty of cover for the loss of Mateo Kovacic, although with his experience, Kovacic could be a valuable squad member for City this season.

Unfortunately, Mateo Kovacic faces another spell on the sidelines. He has had a frustrating start to the 25/26 season and that is set to continue as he recovers from his latest injury setback.