Guardiola could be sweating on Man City duo ahead of Liverpool clash after double injury setback | OneFootball

Manchester City were handed two further injury blows during their defeat to Real Madrid on Tuesday night, with Pep Guardiola potentially sweating on their fitness ahead of the upcoming clash against Liverpool.

The 2023 Champions League winners face a tall order to even make this season’s round of 16 after they lost 3-2 to the holders at the Etihad Stadium, conceding twice after the 86th minute, which leaves them needing to win at the Bernabeu against the club who’ve had far more success in this competition than any other.

The Cityzens’ misery was compounded by the sight of two players being forced off before the start of the second half, as per Manchester Evening News.

Man City dealt double injury blow

Jack Grealish lasted for only half an hour before he was substituted with an apparent groin problem, and a seemingly similar issue for Manuel Akanji led to his withdrawal at half-time.

Man City face Premier League leaders Liverpool at home on 23 February, with Guardiola now left praying that the aforementioned duo will recover in time for that fixture.

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

More bad news for Man City ahead of Liverpool showdown

Although the Manchester outfit have welcomed some players back from injury, with Nathan Ake coming off the bench last night and Jeremy Doku an unused substitute, the double blow to Grealish and Akanji represents a setback for them ahead of the return leg against Real Madrid and the Etihad showdown against the Reds.

Arne Slot has concerns of his own with which to contend, with Joe Gomez currently sidelined, and LFC still have three more matches to get through before facing the English champions in 11 days’ time.

Nonetheless, with City almost certain to relinquish their four-year grip on the Premier League trophy with a third of the season still to play and staring down the barrel of a pre-March European exit, the last thing Guardiola would’ve wanted is for two more of his players to be struck down amid a fiendish run of fixtures.

Grealish and Akanji might yet recover in time to face Liverpool, with more accurate updates set to be provided on the duo over the coming days, but they’d be two losses for the Cityzens if they are to be ruled out of the Reds’ visit to Manchester later this month.

As with Kai Havertz, we never want to see players getting injured, and we wish the English forward and Swiss defender a swift recovery.