Manchester City and England defender, John Stones is expected to be out for a while after coming off with a muscular injury last night in the Champions League. Stones came off at halftime in the win against Swiss side, Young Boys and his manager, Pep Guardiola says he could be out for quite a while. Man City sealed their place in the knockout stages of Europe’s premier club competition but the injuries to Stones and Akanji made the win bittersweet.
Guardiola indicated in the post-match press conference that he was disappointed for Stones but knows that it is a long season and he will be back stronger. The England international has had a start-stop season with injuries blighting his campaign. He started the current season with a hip injury that kept him out of City’s first seven games of the season and missed a few other games with minor injuries.
Asked about the injuries, Guardiola told TNT Sports: “Manu had a problem in the back. It was blocked and I don’t know what happened but he was out.
“And John felt [his injury] again. I feel so sorry for him because he’s so incredibly professional and his commitment again. It is a big loss for us. John is so important for what he does but he will recover and the season is long and he will be back stronger.”
Asked if Stones will be out for a while, Guardiola said: “Yeah I think so.”
After enjoying a strong end to last season, it is extremely disappointing that injuries have hindered his progress this season. This injury means that Stones will miss out on the upcoming international window for his country, a blow for Gareth Southgate. John Stones was set to be named in the England manager’s squad for the final Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta & North Macedonia.
Man City have a difficult run of Premier League games which will see them face Tottenham, Liverpool, Chelsea and Aston Villa over the next four weeks and Stones will be a big miss for them.
On a night where Manchester City came away with maximum points, Manuel Akanji also suffered a back injury and the Cityzens would hope that it’s not a significant injury that will also rule him out of the crunch tie against Chelsea this Sunday.
