Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola spoke about the absences that have harmed his team in recent weeks
MADRID, SPAIN - DECEMBER 10: Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola watches the UEFA Champions League Matchday 6 game against Real Madrid from the bench at Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain, on December 10, 2025. (Photo by Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City backroom staff(Image: )
View Image
Pep Guardiola spent the first half of his press conference on Friday saying that he knew 100 per cent how to solve the issues in his team. When it came to the second part, it transpired that the answer was simply getting his injured players back.
How true that is, the worrying reality for Manchester City is that most won't be back any time soon. Matheus Nunes and Nico Gonzalez are expected back in the next few days but the other six absentees are weeks if not months away from returning to action.
It is a troubling parallel with last season, when a strong start for City in the opening few months - talking results, at least - was completely derailed by a number of their defenders all getting injured at the same time. There was gallows humour to Guardiola when he said on Friday that "we are lucky that we survived until January" this time.
A campaign that had been about rebuilding and moving on from the disappointment of last season has now been thrown back into the feeling of the darkest parts of last winter when the team could not buy a win. Also, getting loads of injuries at the same time can be considered unlucky when it happens the first time but when it happens in consecutive seasons that raises questions - even if Guardiola insists there is nothing to be done.
"The reason why? The amount of games. We have incredible doctors, the best physios that I can have. I've not changed my physios once, the doctors are 24 hours, they work like animals," he said. "It hasn't happened at Man City, at all the teams. Looks at Pedri, injured at Barcelona now with a muscular problem because of the amount of games."
Guardiola joked that the only solution is to have a squad containing 50 players and two managers - 'one to handle the 25 that don't play' - but his more serious point is that players are not getting enough rest either day to day or between seasons and so there is a cumulative fatigue. Even if it doesn't hit a player this year, it will affect their performance at some point.
"Maybe we can do better, I'm pretty sure the doctors analyse why it happened but I said to them the reason why is we make more fatigue and fatigue is in your body and more fatigue and more runs.," he said "Scientists prove that they need to rest and sleep and eat and need time for the muscles to come back.
"That's why you are slower in that moment, late in the actions, you have fractures in the ankles and this kind of stuff. When they demand for you to compete in the highest standards in all levels, we need the players to compete because they are so good but we don't have them."
If injuries and fatigue are going to become a pattern because of the calendar, and Guardiola does not want bigger squads, it raises the question of how City are going to avoid these crises. That is a question for the longer term but also demands immediate attention when Wolves visit the Etihad looking to continue their recent signs of life.
City will need to rely on January signings Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi and then require many of those who are knackered from playing so much in recent weeks to lift themselves to produce a performance that is significantly better than what was seen in Trafford and Bodo. Guardiola is not alone in not wanting to have to be left putting the shortcomings of another season down to players being unavailable - not least because a number of them have fallen down only after being used so regularly.
Three points on Saturday will stave off such inquests, and could even see City close on Arsenal this weekend if Michael Carrick's United can surprise the league leaders at the Emirates. It would also change the narrative around a team that many were backing to chase down Arsenal less than a month ago before so much started going wrong on the pitch.
Guardiola believes his team have been on the wrong side of luck in recent weeks. He needs that to change imminently if City are to stay in contention in the Premier League and put their Champions League woes behind them.
Content cannot be displayed without consent