Man City were doing relatively alright on the injury front up until the weekend, albeit with injuries mainly concentrated in defence.
For a team that has already played 46 games in the 2024/25 season so far, Manchester City have been lucky to not have such a lengthy injury list, albeit having been without Rodri for pretty much the entire season, and now Erling Haaland.
Man City talisman Haaland was injured against Bournemouth last time out and now faces up to seven weeks on the sidelines, though Pep Guardiola is hopeful that the Norwegian will feature in the Club World Cup in the summer.
It’s a huge blow for Man City who play Leicester City in the Premier League on Wednesday night, and how Pep lines up without Haaland available seems like a bit of a mystery, with no direct replacements for the striker, but many who could do a job there.
Elsewhere, Pep remains without some key defensive players.
Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Pep Guardiola shares injury updates on Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and more
Pep didn’t seem to want to give away too much on the rest of his injured players when talking about Haaland in his pre-Leicester City presser on Tuesday. But he did suggest that ‘all of’ his injured players, barring Nathan Ake, could return to action before the end of the season, including John Stones and possibly even Rodri.
More Man City News
The Man City boss then said that Manuel Akanji could even make his return to action by the end of April, saying: “All of them I think, I don’t know Nathan, will come back before the end of the season. But I don’t know when. But Manu is getting better… End of April, maybe. I think for April maybe they will be back. It’s a long time they’re out.”
In the absence of names like Akanji, Stones, and Ake, January signing Abdukodir Khusanov has really stepped up to the plate, even being named Man City’s Player of the Month for February.
The latest on John Stones’ Man City future
City fans have a soft spot for Stones who’s now the second-longest serving player in the side behind Kevin De Bruyne, but often found on the sidelines.
It’s his patchy injury record that’s left him in the centre of debate with many wondering whether he’s staying or going at the Etihad, with no clear sign from the club that he’ll be kept.
Perhaps the clearest indication came from Pep himself earlier in the year, when Pep said Stones will be at Man City next season when discussing his centre-back options going forward, although it didn’t feel like a direct confirmation that he was staying.
Recent reports have revealed that Man City want to sign Jarrad Branthwaite from Everton in the summer and he could be a like-for-like replacement for Stones, who’s perhaps among the group of players who City now need to move on from, and usher in the next generation.