Man City suffer major scare for Arsenal clash

JOHN Stones was withdrawn from England’s friendly against Belgium after just eight minutes — days before Manchester City’s crucial title showdown against Arsenal on Sunday.

It was an action packed start to the game at Wembley, with Stones injury the first headline grabbing moment before goals for both Belgium and England. The City star seemed to pick up the knock while in possession and needed to be replaced almost immediately.

The scenes will concern everyone over at the Etihad, especially manager Pep Guardiola who will want as fit a squad as possible for when Arsenal roll into town in less than a week’s time. Stones isn’t even the first City to star to be withdrawn for England this break.

On Saturday night, Kyle Walker’s game ended early against Brazil after he met the same fate as stones, though he managed to last around 10 minutes more. Whether either of them recover in time for the game against the Gunners remains to be seen.

Southgate, when asked about Stones’ condition, explained: “It’s more abdutor area. We didn’t take any chances with it. He felt something so we got him off straight away but hopefully he’ll be ok.”

Speaking in the aftermath of the weekend defeat, Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate discussed Walker’s injury. He claimed: “He’s not had many injuries, so he himself isn’t sure whether it’s just tightness.

“I suspect if he’s feeling it, it’s a little bit more than that but we’ll know a bit more over the next 24 and 36 hours.”

Both Stones and Walker would be near-certainties to start for City against Mikel Arteta’s side if deemed fit enough. At the start of the international break, Erling Haaland shed light on a particularly ominous warning from Guardiola while discussing his own fitness.