Manchester City hit with defensive injury concern ahead of Chelsea, Manchester United, and Tottenham fixtures

Pep Guardiola has been handed a further selection headache in defence, with Ruben Dias being added to on Manchester City’s list of injured players.

The Premier League champions enter what could be a hugely decisive run of games across several competitions this month, with a number of the traditional top-six in the English top-flight amongst their opponents.

This week alone, Manchester City travel to Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Thursday night, before taking on Chelsea just days later at the Etihad Stadium in the FA Cup third round.

The double-header against Graham Potter’s side will then be followed by a Carabao Cup quarter-final clash on the South Coast against Southampton, before they travel to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United in the Premier League.

Two home games at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League then follow, with Manchester City scheduled to take on Tottenham and Wolverhampton Wanderers before the month is up, while a further game could come should Pep Guardiola and his players reach the FA Cup fourth round.

However, ahead of a tremendous run of fixtures, Pep Guardiola will have to contend with a further injury to his back line, as Aymeric Laporte joins fellow central defender Ruben Dias on Manchester City’s treatment table.

The Spain international started City’s first game following the World Cup in a 3-2 victory against Liverpool, before finding himself amongst the substitutes at Elland Road against Leeds United.

It was the final game of the 2022 calendar year that revealed the extent of the problem for Laporte however, as the former Athletic Bilbao defender was absent from the matchday squad entirely.

As per Premier Injuries, Aymeric Laporte is suffering from a ‘lower back injury’, while the severity of the problem is understood to be low and relatively unconcerning – with the centre-back holding some chance of returning to the squad against Chelsea on Thursday night.

Ruben Dias however, is expected to be ruled out for a few more weeks, as the Portugal international continues to recover from a muscular problem during his final game of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar – a defeat to Morocco at the quarter-final stage.