Manchester City’s Kyle Walker and John Stones are set to miss the upcoming Premier League match against Arsenal which will be played at the Etihad Stadium on March 31, confirmed head coach Pep Guardiola on Friday.
Walker and Stones picked injuries during the international break as both players walked off the field during the matches. The right-back injured his hamstring during the match against Brazil at Wembley while the defensive midfielder sustained an ankle injury against Belgium.
Despite the injuries, there were hopes that both players would be declared fit to play Mikel Arteta’s troops at Etihad but they will remain on the sidelines to continue recovery from injuries.
“Kyle and John are out,” said Guardiola. “It is what it is. [The injury for] Kyle [is] tougher than [for] John but I don’t know how many games.”
The Cityzens are yet to determine if the duo will be fit to play Aston Villa, a team that has already beaten them this season, next week.
On the other, Kevin de Bruyne is set to return to action against Arsenal as the Belgian is set to have recovered from his injury after missing City’s FA Cup match against Newcastle United and Belgium’s international friendlies.
“Kevin is such an important player. It has been a tough season for him with injuries, being out for a long time. He trained really well yesterday so we will see what we’re going to do in the next days,” Guardiola said.
Another player, Jack Grealish, is back in contention after sitting on the sidelines for over a month. Guardiola admitted that the current season has not been easy for the English international.
“His season was not perfect for him but he still trained really well. It’s been a long time since he played but it’s a decision we will take tomorrow but you have to see the calendar that we have. If we want to fight in all competitions we need all the players. We have enough and the calendar doesn’t look good for us but it is what it is,” Guardiola said of Grealish.
