Guardiola seeks solutions as Stones adds to City’s injury woes

2019-09-18 - BY MARK CRITCHLEY

MANCHESTER City have plunged deeper into a defensive crisis after John Stones was ruled out for up to six weeks.

City are already without Aymeric Laporte, who will return from a knee injury next year, and Stones’s absence means Nicolas Otamendi is Pep Guardiola’s only fit senior central defender.

“A month, four or five weeks, six weeks,” was the City manager’s take on how long the injury will keep the England international out. “It is a muscular problem.”

Fernandinho, naturally a midfielder, is expected to slot alongside Otamendi in the centre of City’s defence, while youngsters Eric Garcia and Taylor Hartwood-Bellis will provide firstteam cover until Stones returns.

“It’s a challenge, and they will do it well because my players are the best,” Guardiola said.

“We play with ’dinho, Eric or Taylor. I will create something. That is what it is. Football is not how you handle the good situations. It’s how you handle the bad ones. This team has done it in the past. When we won the last two seasons seven titles, nobody gave us anything. We won for ourselves and we are going to do it again.”

Stones’s injury — sustained while passing the ball in a training session — comes days after he and Otamendi were widely criticised for their performances in a shock 3-2 defeat away to Norwich City. Fernandinho was in contention to start in the centre of defence against Shakhtar tonight regardless of Stones’ absence, but the injury still comes at an inopportune time.

A six-week layoff would leave Stones sidelined until the final week of October. City travel to title rivals Liverpool on the weekend of November 9.

“Something people don’t know is the spirit, commitment,” Guardiola said. “Everybody makes a step forward to solve the problem we have. With ’dinho, Eric Garcia and Taylor from the academy, we are going to go for the next month.

“Sometimes these situations happen. It’s happened. What we’re not going to do is complain. We have to make 11 players on the pitch, make extra effort, and I like to prove myself. To find a solution for the team.

“It’s for the players as well to step forward and contribution to this problem we have. Two important central defenders we have in John and Aymer are injured for a long time.”

Goal: Inter’s Nicola Barella

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Second Round

Ballinamallard L Linfield L (aet)

TONIGHT’S FIXTURES (Kick-off 8.00pm) Champions League

Group A

Brugge v Galatasaray (5.55pm) Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid

Group B

Bayern Munich v Red Star (5.55pm)

Olympiacos v Tottenham

Group C

Dinamo Zagreb v Atalanta Shakhtar Donetsk v Man City