Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola has confirmed that John Stones will be on the sidelines until at least after the international break in September.
Due to a hip injury, the defender has been out of City’s previous three matches. And Guardiola has revealed he won’t be playing in the forthcoming Premier League games against Sheffield United and Fulham.
Stones is also anticipated to miss England’s friendlies against Scotland at Hampden Park and Ukraine in Wroclaw, Poland. Both of which are the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 qualifying games.
As reported by Daily Mail, Guardiola stated following City Saturday’s 1-0 victory against Newcastle: ‘John will be ready after the international break’
Since playing the entire 90 minutes in the Cityzens’ Community Shield loss to Arsenal at the beginning of August, the 29-year-old has not appeared for the team.
Stones did not feature in the matchday squad for the Premier League wins over Burnley and Newcastle. He also did not play in the Uefa Super Cup victory over Sevilla in Athens.
In Stones’ absence, City’s £78 million summer acquisition Josko Gvardiol has fit in perfectly to the Premier League champions’ defense. Aiding in the team’s back-to-back league-opening clean sheets.
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In order to help City when they have the ball, Manuel Akanji has taken Stones’ position of moving from defense to midfield. As Guardiola continues to address the early-season injury problems.
With a hamstring injury, Kevin de Bruyne could potentially be out for up to four months. And Bernardo Silva hasn’t played since Burnley’s victory due to illness.
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