Manchester City are braced to be without John Stones for a prolonged period as they made up ground on Liverpool in the Premier League title race.
City returned from being crowned Club World Cup winners in Saudi Arabia to beat Everton 3-1 at Goodison Park. As a result, the reigning champions moved within five points of the Reds, who are top of the table, and have a game in hand.
However, Stones was forced off with an ankle issue against Everton and Pep Guardiola admitted the defender’s problem is a concern. The City manager said: “It doesn’t look good, but we will see. It’s his ankle.”
City had to come from behind against Everton and their second goal was riddled with controversy. The visitors were awarded a penalty on 62 minutes for handball when Nathan Ake’s shot hit Everton’s Amadou Onana’s arm from point-blank range. Julian Alvarez converted the spot-kick, with Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva also on target.
The Etihad Stadium outfit were far from their free-flowing best against Everton. They were again without Erling Haaland, who continues to be troubled by a foot complaint. Talisman Kevin De Bruyne, meanwhile, hasn’t featured since August because of a hamstring injury.
De Bruyne could return when City face Sheffield United on Saturday, but Haaland is set to be absent. Guardiola added: “He is training alone but he is not training with the team yet.
“I’m not a doctor. He had a stress in the bone in his feet and it’s so painful. He’s not a skinny guy like Phil Foden, he’s huge and tall so it is more difficult sometimes. When he will be fine, he will be back and play but the doctors come every morning and say which players are available. I create the team and we play the games.”
“Kevin is close but he had fatigue yesterday and we have to be careful,” Guardiola said. “When he was injured for three months, if you don’t handle the timings good you can get injured again. The injury was serious so step by step but he’s training with us and he is so positive so soon he will be back. I’d love for him to play the next game or Huddersfield but what is important is keeping him fit for a long time, not for one game or another.”
Leave a Reply