John Stones injury timeframe confirmed by Pep Guardiola as surgery decision made | OneFootball

Manchester City have taken the decision not to request surgery on John Stones following his latest injury setback, Pep Guardiola has confirmed.

The England international centre-back has endured a hugely frustrating season on the injury and availability front for Manchester City, missing the most-part of the campaign through his fitness problems and hampering Pep Guardiola’s options in defence.

Having returned recently, and putting together a short string of appearances in central defence and in defensive midfield, there was hope among Manchester City supporters that the second-half of the campaign could bring about somewhat of a resurgence for the Barnsley-born star.

However, those hopes have already been cut short by another injury blow, as Stones limped off inside the opening 10 minutes of the club’s away defeat to Real Madrid – a game that also marked the end of their UEFA Champions League adventure for the season.

In the days that followed, the severity of the injury became more apparent with manager Pep Guardiola warning that it could be a case of months and not days or weeks for Stones in terms of the period he would need to be sidelined for.

And now, speaking during his latest Manchester City press conference, Pep Guardiola has confirmed that while John Stones will not undergo surgery on his thigh injury, the England international will still be sidelined for up to more than two months.

“No, no surgery. No,” Guardiola confirmed on the decision taken by medical professionals over the 30-year-old’s latest fitness problem.

The Manchester City manager continued on the centre-back, “He can be recovered during eight to 10 weeks without surgery.”

“We need everyone for the end of the season. Absolutely everyone. I decide for this line-up, maybe tomorrow will be another one, we need everyone.

“We are part of that and of course in the next one, two, three years the players will be a little bit different. Everybody knows it.”

The extended absence for John Stones from the Manchester City side at the most crucial point of the campaign will no doubt raise question marks over whether he has a future at the Etihad Stadium beyond the conclusion of the season.

Pep Guardiola has already spoken about the importance of his players being able to challenge consistently across the course of the season and be available for selection twice a week across several months.

There is now a clear opportunity for the likes of Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis – who joined the club during the recent January window – to establish themselves as go-to options for Pep Guardiola during the final months of this campaign in preparation for the new season.