Rodri, Doku & Stones: Latest Man City injury news ahead of Brentford & West Ham gamesplaceholder image
Rodri, Doku & Stones: Latest Man City injury news ahead of Brentford & West Ham games | Getty Images
The latest Manchester City injury news and return dates ahead of games against Brentford and West Ham.
Manchester City play twice this week with an EFL Cup quarter-final trip to Brentford on Wednesday evening before they take on West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday – but their preparations have been hampered by fresh injury concerns.
Both John Stones and Jérémy Doku missed the impressive 3-0 win over Crystal Palace this weekend through injury, while Pep Guardiola is still waiting on the much-delayed comeback of key midfielder Rodri. With Africa Cup of Nations call-ups also impacting the squad, City could be forced to make do without as many as six first-team players this week.
Ahead of the matches against Brentford and West Ham, we’ve collected all of the latest Manchester City injury news and selection updates below, along with the stricken players’ expected return dates when available.
How long are Manchester City’s John Stones & Jérémy Doku out for?
Winger Jérémy Doku was left out of the matchday squad for the win over Palace after picking up a leg injury – the club have not provided more precise information – towards the end of the 2-1 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League last week.
Guardiola has since told the press that the Belgian will be out for “two or three weeks” and confirmed on Tuesday that he would miss out on both of this week’s games and that he was targeting the Sunderland match on New Year’s Day for a comeback.
It was also confirmed that defender John Stones would miss out against Brentford, which would be the England international’s fourth match missed in a row due to a thigh injury. Guardiola told the press prior to the Palace match that Stones “would be back soon” and it’s possible that he returns to the squad in time to face West Ham. If not, he should be back in time for the 27 December fixture against Nottingham Forest.
When Rodri could return – and who else misses out against Brentford & West Ham?
Along with Doku and Stones, Guardiola has also confirmed that Rodri will not make his long-awaited comeback against Brentford – and while he still has a chance of being involved against West Ham, it seems more likely that we have to wait another week for the Spaniard to return to the matchday squad.
Speaking last week, Guardiola told the media that Rodri was “doing his rehab really well and he looks sharper and sharper every day, but I don't think we are going to see him for the weekend - he is [in] the process [of getting back to fitness].”
Alongside Rodri, who is perhaps more likely to be back to face Forest, Guardiola will still be without the services of Mateo Kovačić, who is not expected to return from a serious ankle injury until March.
To add to the selection headaches, City will be without Omar Marmoush and Rayan Aït-Nouri for at least two weeks due to the Africa Cup of Nations, which could keep them in Morocco until the second half of January. Full details of the tournament schedule and when Premier League players could return can be found here.
With so many players out this week, Guardiola has already told the press that he expects to rotate his squad for the quarter-final showdown with Brentford and has specifically confirmed that James Trafford would start in goal.
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