Ruben Dias came off later in the Chelsea game and, according to Daily Mail reporting, City are running tests on the severity of a muscle injury. It is unclear how long the Portugal international might be unavailable for, but with John Stones ruled out since early December and Manuel Akanji on loan in Serie A, it leaves Abdukodir Khusanov and Nathan Ake the only fit centre-backs in the first-team squad - even Ake has to have a carefully managed workload because of ongoing fitness concerns. Vitor Reis and Juma Bah are currently on loan at Girona and Nice respectively.
As an emergency measure, City have already recalled 20-year-old Max Alleyne from a loan spell at Watford. He made 16 Championship appearances for the Hornets during the first half of the season, 14 of them as a starter, and has represrnted England at various age groups up to Under-21 level. He has never made a first-team appearance for City, though.