Spurs and City face off this weekendplaceholder image
Spurs and City face off this weekend | Getty Images
All the early injury news surrounding Tottenham and Manchester City as they prepare to go head-to-head.
Tottenham are back in action on Saturday, and they will face a big test in their second game of the season after making relatively easy work of Burnley last time out. Thomas Frank’s men will be eager to test themselves against a likely title candidate.
City also won their first game, defeating Wolves, but they too will be looking forward to a stronger test. Here we round up the early injury news surrounding both sides.
Mateo Kovacic - Out
Guardiola confirmed recently: “There is Kova, injured until September or October...”
Josko Gvardiol - Out
Guardiola said before the start of the season that Gvardiol was ‘not ready’. He is expected to return at the end of the month.
Savinho - Out
The winger is not expected to return until the end of the month, either. Guardiola said recently: “Savinho is injured from Palermo. [A] few weeks he will be out.”
Phil Foden - Doubt
Foden should be available in some capacity, but Guardiola will need to confirm whether the attacker is ready to go in his press conference.
Ederson - Doubt
Ederson missed last week’s game through illness. There is also questions over his future at City, so he may not be involved.
Claudio Echeverri - Doubt
Echeverri is a doubt but he could well return from an ankle injury here.
Rodrigo - Doubt
Guardiola said last week: “Soon he will be involved... very soon!” The midfielder is expected to have a chance of returning this weekend.
Marcus Bettinelli - Out
The goalkeeper has a knock and is not expected to be involved.
Kalvin Phillips - Out
Phillips went into the pre-season with an ongoing Achilles issue. He is not expected to be available.
Dejan Kulusevski - Out
Kulusevskis is going to remain out for at least a few weeks yet. Frank said when last asked: “I don’t like to put a timeline on it. Put it this way, he’s not ready for the first game of the season.” Sweden manager Jon Dahl Tomasson has confirmed the forward will miss the upcoming September internationals, so it is assumed Kulusevski will be out until at least mid-September.
Bryan Gil - Out
Gil remains out with a knee injury, and it’s unclear when he will return. Ange Postecoglou said back in March: “He has a knee injury and needs to speak with Dr. Cugat. We'll see if it's an operation or not. If he has surgery, he could be out for the entire season. But more tests need to be done, and Cugat will decide. It's clear that things aren't looking good, but since tests are still pending, we'll see.” Gil had surgery and it working towards a return.
Manor Solomon - Out
Frank said last week: “Manor is just back from his injury, in terms of being on the pitch he had a part training with the team yesterday, so hopefully he can progress after that.” Solomon is not expected to be available yet as he builds up his fitness.
Destiny Udogie - Doubt
Frank said last week: “Destiny is progressing, but it's too early for him to be involved in the squad.” Udogie could have an outside chance of making it back here.
Yves Bissouma - Doubt
Bissouma missed opening weekend, with Frank saying: “Unfortunately, he got injured in training yesterday. We need to look into how much it is.” It’s unclear how long the midfielder will be out for or whether he will play here.
Kota Takai - Out
Takai has been struggling with a foot injury. Frank said in late July: “Kota got a plantar fascia injury, unfortunately, we don’t know the scale of it - weeks!” Takai is expected to remain out for now.
Radu Dragusin - Out
Dragusin suffered a ruptured ACL back in the winter, and he is not likely to play until late Autumn to early winter. There is still a long road ahead of the defender.
Maddison ruptured his ACL during a pre-season clash with Newcastle United and will much of the season.
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