Pep Guardiola has admitted that John Stones is still not fully fit.
The Manchester City centre-back started in his usual hybrid role in his side’s latest 1-0 win against AFC Bournemouth and starred, earning rave reviews for his performance.
Don Hutchison claimed that despite Phil Foden’s winner, the £47.5 million (Manchester Evening News) defender was his Man of the Match against Andoni Iraola’s side.
Pep Guardiola admits John Stones is still not fully fit
Izzy Christiansen admitted that she, alongside Scott Parker was “laughing” when witnessing a centre-half like the 29-year-old pick up the positions he was against the Cherries and having an impact on proceedings.
Parker believes Stones’ adaptation and understanding of the game is primarily why he is a “world-class” player.
While John Stones looked at his brilliant best on Saturday, Pep Guardiola believes he is yet to be fully fit.
“Yeah, still is not at his top [level in terms of fitness] but of course, Manu [Manuel Akanji] and him are back and they were injured. John [Stones] had been…a lot of setbacks this season”, he said [via HaytersTV].
“But it’s not like Phil [Foden], for example where they need two training sessions to be fit and ready, it’s more difficult for them but of course, he’s back and he played again, really, really good.”
John Stones needs to get more games under his belt
Recently returning from injury into the side for Pep Guardiola and Co., it is natural that it is taking a while for John Stones to feel at his sharpest.
While Stones’ performances on the pitch tell a different story, that comes down to his quality and not down to his fitness levels.
However, there is a huge difference between merely recovering from an injury and being match-fit.
As a result, the more the five-Premier League winner starts games, the fitter he will be.
With John Stones being a vital cog in this Manchester City side, he is expected to be one of the first names on the team sheet in the following weeks.
Games are set to come thick and fast for the treble-winners in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup, which will allow Stones to get the required playing time to get back to full fitness.
