Pep Guardiola provides an injury update on six Manchester City players, including Kyle Walker and John Stones, ahead of Sunday’s Premier League showdown with Arsenal.
Pep Guardiola has confirmed that defensive duo Kyle Walker and John Stones will miss Sunday’s Premier League title showdown with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.
Walker was captaining England when he was forced off in the 19th minute of the Three Lions’ 1-0 friendly defeat to Brazil last weekend with a hamstring injury.
Stones, meanwhile, played the full 90 minutes against Brazil, but he lasted only 10 minutes in England’s 2-2 draw with Belgium after sustaining a groin problem.
Reports earlier this week suggested that Man City were hopeful that Walker would be fit and available for Sunday’s clash with Arsenal.
However, both the 33-year-old and Stones were notable absentees from first-team training at the City Football Academy on Thursday.
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Pep Guardiola issues injury update on six players ahead of Arsenal clash
Ahead of Sunday’s contest, Guardiola addressed the media at a press conference on Friday to confirm that Walker and Stones will not be involved against Arsenal.
“Kyle’s [injury is] more tough than John’s, but they will be out,” said Guardiola. “I don’t know for how many games.”
Asked how he felt about Stones starting in both of England’s friendlies, Guardiola simply replied: “I haven’t got any comments about that”.
There were also concerns over a third Citizens defender in the form of Manuel Akanji, who picked up a knock on international duty with Switzerland and was forced to withdraw from their squad earlier this week.
However, Akanji was fit to take part in team training on Thursday and Guardiola has since confirmed that he is “okay” to feature on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Guardiola has revealed that goalkeeper Ederson is feeling “much better” and star playmaker Kevin De Bruyne could also be in contention to feature against Arsenal.
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Ederson sustained a muscle injury in Man City’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool before the international break and was subsequently unable to represent Brazil, while De Bruyne was omitted from the Belgium squad due to a groin problem.
However, the Citizens were boosted by the news that both Ederson and De Bruyne took part in training on Thursday, as did Jack Grealish, who is available to play against the Gunners having not featured in any of the previous three games due to a groin injury.
Discussing De Bruyne, Guardiola said: “Such an important player. It’s been a tough season for him with injuries. He trained well yesterday. We’ll see what we are going to do.”
“We will not put all the responsibility on [De Bruyne],” Guardiola added. “We have to do it all together, with our people, of course.”
Another midfielder who could be involved on Sunday is Matheus Nunes, who took part in training on Thursday after missing Portugal’s friendly loss to Slovenia due to a knock to his foot.
Man City currently sit third in the Premier League table, just one point behind leaders Arsenal and second-placed Liverpool, who could move to the summit with victory over Brighton & Hove Albion a few hours before the Citizens face the Gunners on Sunday.
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