Pep Guardiola has shared some details on how long Manchester City defender John Stones could be out injured for.
During the first half of the Manchester club’s 3-1 win over Everton on Wednesday, the Englishman was forced off with an ankle injury and ultimately ruled out of this weekend’s match against Sheffield United.
Now though, Guardiola has shed some light on how long the centre-back could be out of action for.
Guardiola says Stones could be back in two to three weeks
Speaking in his latest press conference (via Beanyman Sports) ahead of Saturday’s Premier League match against the Blades, Guardiola had this to say about Stones‘ injury blow and when he could likely be back in action.
“I don’t know, but for a while. Hopefully, maybe Newcastle or maybe after Abu Dhabi. It could be worse, always we have to be optimistic of that and hopefully in two, three weeks we’ll be fine.”
The 29-year-old, who City paid £47m to sign from Everton back in 2016, has already had to deal with a few injury problems this season, which have led to him making just eight league appearances.
With the Citizens also having the likes of Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku out injured, as well as having to deal with getting Kevin De Bruyne back into the swing of things after his long-term spell on the sidelines, having Stones out of action is undoubtedly another problem for Guardiola to deal with.
However, the fact that Guardiola said that City’s league match against Newcastle United on the 13th of January could be a potential return date for the defender will offer some encouragement to supporters.
If that ends up being the case, the only game Stones would miss would be the FA Cup clash against Huddersfield Town at the Etihad Stadium next weekend.
Moving forward, everyone at the club will be hoping that not only can the England international recover from this latest injury blow as soon as possible, but also that he can avoid any other injuries throughout the remainder of the season so he can help his side regain the trophies he helped them win last term.
