Pep Guardiola reveals major Man City injury blow ahead of Liverpool game | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola revealed that centre-back John Stones will be sidelined for "two to three months" after limping off in the first half of Wednesday's Champions League exit.

Stones lasted just eight minutes of City's 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in midweek, although that was enough time to watch his centre-back partner Ruben Dias stumble over his own shoelaces while Kylian Mbappe scored the first of his three goals on the night.

In the absence of their unique but injury-riddled centre-back, City did well to escape with a two-goal margin of defeat. As Guardiola lamented post-game: "They were the better team. You have to accept the reality."

The Catalan coach now has to find acceptance for City's continued misfortune when it comes to fitness issues.

"He's injured, difficult one, next hours/days we will know whether he needs surgery or not," Guardiola said of Stones in his press conference ahead of a visit from Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday. The City boss confirmed that it was a long-term injury "like Manuel Akanji", who was ruled out for "eight to ten weeks" with an adductor issue earlier this month.

John Stones was forced off in the opening ten minutes of Man City's defeat to Real Madrid / David Ramos/GettyImages

Guardiola was also asked about Erling Haaland, who watched the entirety of the midweek tie with Real Madrid from the bench. "Don't know yet," he shrugged when reflecting on his striker's availability for this weekend's crunch fixture. "Tomorrow we will know it but I don't know. It's better to have Erling on the pitch but obviously, we don't have it but of course with Erling we are stronger."

Alongside Stones, Akanji and potentially Haaland, City remain without long-term absentees Oscar Bobb and, the elephant in the room for every injury update, Rodri. The reigning Ballon d'Or winner recently gave a positive appraisal of his recovery from an ACL tear in September.

"I'm feeling very good," the Spaniard told City's website. "In my head, everything is fine. I don't feel unstable in the knee. I need to get the strength in the quads and everything. That's the most important thing."

Whether Rodri will be play any part in the remainder of City's Premier League season remains to be seen, but the talismanic holding midfielder has previously revealed that he is targeting a return to action for the FIFA Club World Cup in June.