Pep Guardiola has three important Manchester City stars on the sidelines due to injury with their Premier League title race against Arsenal taking a fresh twist
Manchester City midfielder Rodri
Man City midfielder Rodri is still absent because of injury(Image: (Photo by Copa/Getty Images))
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Manchester City remain without some key players due to injury as their Premier League title hopes were hit after a 3-3 draw at Everton. Jeremy Doku grabbed his second of the game deep into added time to salvage a point but it was not enough to stop Arsenal from taking control of the title race.
Goals from Thierno Barry and Jake O'Brien in a disastrous 13 minutes at Hill Dickinson Stadium saw City go to only five points behind leaders Arsenal. Nico Gonzalez was the one change made by Guardiola with Rodri still unavailable after missing the last three games.
It was a mistake from Marc Guehi that started Everton's comeback but he and Abdukodir Khusanov are likely to remain as the centre-back duo. That is because Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol are still out and yet to train with their teammates having both missed at least six weeks.
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With all of that being said, MEN Sport has taken a look at the latest updates on City's injured stars and whether or not they may be able to return for the run-in.
Rodri
Having missed several weeks and still not been in team training, Rodri is likely to miss this weekend's game against Brentford but could be back for one of the matches next week.
What Guardiola has said: "He is getting better. Still hasn’t trained with us, so we will see."
Possible return date:Chelsea (N) - Saturday, May 16.
Ruben Dias
Dias has been out injured since mid-March and has therefore missed City's last seven games in all competitions. Though there are only a few weeks of the season remaining, he could feature before its conclusion.
What Guardiola has said: Ruben (Dias) is not yet with the team. Him, Josko (Gvardiol) and Rodri are getting better."
Ruben Dias during a Manchester City match
Ruben Dias remains out through injury
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Possible return date: Aston Villa (H) - Sunday, May 24.
Josko Gvardiol
Gvardiol could also be back before the campaign ends despite undergoing surgery on a fractured leg back in January.
**What Guardiola has said: "**Ruben (Dias) is not yet with the team. Him, Josko (Gvardiol) and Rodri are getting better."
Possible return date: Villa (H) - Sunday, May 24.