Guardiola fury as Stones faces six weeks out
MANCHESTER CITY manager Pep Guardiola made a veiled complaint about John Stones being put through 180 minutes of football for England, after admitting that the defender will be out for four to six weeks with a hamstring strain.
Stones pulled up on 27 minutes as he sought to cover Demarai Gray’s attacking run and Guardiola later lamented the volume of football the 23-year-old has been asked to play.
Deliberately placing emphasis on the word ‘friendly’ he said: ‘Before the international friendly games, the body is the body. In the calendar we demand a lot from players. FIFA demand a lot. It’s not possible to sustain these players.’
He avoided direct criticism of England’s manager, saying: ‘I understand Gareth Southgate. He prepared the team for the World Cup in Russia. He is the manager, so he can take the decisions. I understand completely Gareth [has] to take the decisions for the best.’
But ahead of a midweek Champions League match at home to Feyenoord in which he has promised wholesale changes, Guardiola was clearly unhappy. ‘You play 90 minutes, 90 minutes, 90 minutes and then go to your international team and play two 90 minutes that don’t count for anything in terms of points. These kind of things happen. That’s why I will rotate the team, because if not many players will go out.’
City lead their Champions League group by three points and Guardiola said: ‘We want to finish first. I demand the players win the game.’