Manchester City dealt blow as Pep Guardiola confirms key player has picked up injury
Manchester City have received the news of another injury blow as key midfielder Mateo Kovacic is set to be ruled out for around a month. The Cityzens have been unlucky with injuries this season, with several key players having spent time on the sidelines.
Rodri, the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner, is arguably the most significant injury absentee of any side in the Premier League, having ruptured his ACL in September. In his absence, Pep Guardiola has turned to Croatia international Kovacic to fill the void in midfield, a role the 30-year-old has been effective in.
Guardiola revealed his latest headache involving Mateo Kovacic during his press conference ahead of his side's crunch league clash against Tottenham Hotspur. The manager said that the former Chelsea man will miss around a month of action, after picking up an unspecified injury during the international break.
Kovacic was in action for the Croatia national team as they booked their place in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Nations League last week. The midfielder was taken off after halftime in their second game of the break, a 1-1 draw against group leaders Portugal.
Guardiola has handed Kovacic six successive starts in the Premier League following the injury to Rodri, and he has played 15 times across all competitions this season, scoring three goals. His absence will be greatly felt by the manager, seeing as he had been covering for Rodri.
The manager, who has just extended his contract with the Premier League champions, will have to turn to another option to provide cover. Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan and youngster Rico Lewis are two options for Manchester City in the position.
Manchester City receive timely injury boost ahead of Tottenham clash
Manchester City have received news of the recovery of several of their stars ahead of their game against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. The Cityzens need to win at all costs, having lost four straight games for the first time under Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola spoke about the injury situation of his squad, revealing that the trio of John Stones, Manuel Akanji, and Nathan Ake have all returned to fitness. The manager said that all three players have trained with the squad, but ruled out Ruben Dias.
"John [Stones] trained good, Manu [Akanji] trained good. Nathan [Ake] is coming back to training, so we didn’t have any centre-backs and now we have three," Guardiola said via Mnchester City's official website.
“Ruben [Dias] is out but hopefully back soon. Some players recover better."
Manchester City will be pleased to see the return of all three centre-backs from injury, with the side having been without any senior centre-backs against Brighton & Hove Albion before the international break. Teenage academy star Jahmai Simpson-Pusey was thrown into the deep end and struggled, and the manager will be pleased with the fitness reports he has received.
