Evening Standard
·26 de novembro de 2024
Evening Standard
·26 de novembro de 2024
Pep Guardiola remains without host of key players amid unprecedented crisis
Manchester City are in the midst of a crisis heading into another big week for the club.
For the first time in his storied managerial career, Pep Guardiola has lost five consecutive matches and Saturday’s 4-0 defeat at home to Tottenham was perhaps the worst yet.
City looked way off the pace ahead of a huge game with Liverpool on Sunday, while they have the small matter of a Champions League tie against Feyenoord to navigate during the week too.
The champions are starting to look somewhat stale right now and haven’t been helped by constant injuries throughout the campaign thus far.
With that in mind, here’s a look at the latest Manchester City injuries…
Jeremy Doku has missed the last two games with a quad injury, having also sat out of Belgium’s games against Italy and Israel over the international break.
Earlier this month, Guardiola said: “He has some muscular problems in his quadriceps. He doesn’t feel good, he cannot run at full speed.”
While City confirmed the winger had trained before the Spurs game, he sat it out and his return date remains unclear.
Doku was training again on Monday, so could presumably feature against either Feyenoord or Liverpool this week.
Potential return date: November 26 vs Feyenoord, or December 1 vs Liverpool
Key defender Ruben Dias hasn’t played since the Carabao Cup defeat to Spurs with a calf injury but Guardiola confirmed there was hope the Portugal international would return reasonably soon.
Like Doku, he trained on Monday and should be involved at some point this week.
Potential return date: November 26 vs Feyenoord, or December 1 vs Liverpool
A stop-start season on the injury front continued for John Stones during the defeat to Spurs, his first appearance since the Carabao Cup loss in north London last month.
The England international lasted only 45 minutes on Saturday and was replaced at half-time by Nathan Ake.
John Stones came off at half-time during Man City’s loss to Tottenham
AP
Potential return date: Unknown
Mateo Kovacic had been playing a key role in City’s midfield this season in the absence of Rodri but was ruled out for up to a month while playing for Croatia over the international break.
“It will be a while, a few weeks or one month,” said Guardiola.
Potential return date: December 2024
Oscar Bobb had been tipped to play a big role for City this season but was hit with a leg injury during pre-season and isn’t expected back until January or February.
“I think, January or February, he will be ready,” revealed Guardiola in October.
Potential return date: January or February 2025
Rodri underwent surgery on a serious knee injury back in September and isn’t expected to play again this season.
Still, the midfielder recently hinted he would be looking to return by the time the Club World Cup rolls around in the summer.
Potential return date: Summer 2025
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