Rodri has been a huge loss for City this season and will resume his place in the heart of midfield.placeholder image
Rodri has been a huge loss for City this season and will resume his place in the heart of midfield. | Getty Images
Man City are preparing to host Tottenham for their first home Premier League game of the season.
Man City started the season off almost as well as it possibly could go, with a 4-0 win against Wolves at Molineux. New signings Tijani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki both scored, with Erling Haaland also bagging two goals against Vito Pereira’s side.
They face Tottenham this weekend at the Etihad, in what should be a tough game, as Thomas Frank’s side got off to a perfect 3-0 start against Burnley on the opening day, and looked very comfortable under the former Brentford manager.
Man City could be without nine players for the game on Saturday afternoon, whereas Spurs could miss out on eight players, so the injury news could be huge in terms of a likely result this weekend.
Tottenham injury news
Spurs have seven players ruled out ahead of their trip to the Etihad, which could make Thomas Frank’s life very difficult when picking his team on Saturday. Firstly, Radu Dragusin and Dejan Kulusevski remain out with their long-term injuries. The latter is expected to come back first, at the earliest in October.
Manor Soloman has also been ruled out after his loan at Leeds last season, he is expected to return from his calf injury at the end of August. Midfielder Bryan Gil is also unavailable for selection as he continues to recover from his long-term knee injury.
James Maddison underwent surgery on his knee, and will miss the majority of the season alongside Kota Takai, who has a serious ankle issue which will keep him out for several months.
In terms of players in doubt, Spurs have one. Yves Bissouma is currently being assessed after he picked up a minor injury in training. If he is available, it may be the case that he starts on the bench against Man City.
Spurs players ruled out: Dragusin, Kulusevski, Soloman, Gil, Maddison, Takai
Spurs players in doubt: Bissouma
Man City injury news
City have five players ruled out ahead of the game against Tottenham, the first being Kalvin Phillips, who has been seeing a specialist for a calf injury, there is no return date reported for the midfielder yet. Furthermore, Mateo Kovacic is also dealing with a calf injury, he is expected to be out until early October most likely.
One of the bigger losses for Man City is Josko Gvardiol, who has been ruled out with a knock, but he is expected to return at the end of August. Tottenham transfer target Savinho is also out for Saturday, as he has a minor injury. The winger is on a similar timeline to Gvardiol.
Goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli is the final City player ruled out after his move from Chelsea due to a knock. In terms of players in doubt, Claudio Echeverri is the first, as he is dealing with an ankle injury; he is currently being assessed.
Phil Foden could return this weekend too, as he has all but recovered from his hip injury, Guardiola said earlier in the week: “He will be involved...very soon!” It looks more likely that Foden will get some minutes against Spurs.
Finally, this could be the week when Rodri makes his long-awaited competitive return after he suffered a second injury following his long-term ACL injury last year. The Ballon d’Or winner is currently being assessed and has a status set at 50%, making a return look very possible at the Etihad on Sunday.
Man City players ruled out: Phillips, Kovacic, Gvardiol, Savinho, Bettinelli
Man City players in doubt: Echeverri, Ederson, Foden, Rodri
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