The latest on John Stones, Ruben Dias, and Donny van de Beek ahead of Manchester United vs Manchester City (Premier League)

Both Erik ten Hag and Pep Guardiola will have injury problems to contend with when they select their respective line-ups for this weekend’s Manchester derby.

Manchester City will be keen to get back to winning ways on Saturday afternoon, following their Carabao Cup quarter-final exit to Southampton in midweek, as they continue their chase down of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.

As for Manchester United, they will be looking to record a seismic win over their bitter city rivals, that could spark a top-flight title surge of their own, with the Red Devils also facing Arsenal later this month – who currently lead the table by five points.

Ahead of the clash at Old Trafford, both managers have provided updates on the fitness of their players, with a mixture of both positive and negative news for supporters.

Manchester United

One name that will definitely be ruled out of the clash against Manchester City is Donny van de Beek, after it was confirmed by Friday afternoon that the Dutch midfielder will miss the remainder of the season.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference, Erik ten Hag said, “He is out for the season. Our thoughts are with him. It is terrible when you get a bad tackle and a bad injury during the season. Our feelings are with the player and you express that to him.

“It’s his knee, on the long term, it’s looking really good. He will be back, I think, at the start of pre-season.”

On the availability of Anthony Martial, the Manchester United manager provided optimism, “He trained this morning, so we have to wait how he recovered from his training and that will be decided tomorrow.”

Jadon Sancho is likely to continue to miss action for United, and the opportunity to face off against his former club, while Diogo Dalot will also be unavailable due to injury.

Manchester City

Pep Guardiola offered concerning news ahead of the trip to Old Trafford, as it was confirmed on Friday afternoon that John Stones would play no part in the fixture due to injury – with the England international also missing Wednesday’s trip to Southampton in the Carabao Cup.

However, there was positive news regarding another central defender, as Guardiola confirmed that Ruben Dias was on the verge of returning to full first-team training following a muscular injury sustained with Portugal at the FIFA World Cup.

The City boss said, “He’s coming back (to training) maybe today, but soon. He’s been a long time injured. The first step is to come back and start to train, but him being back is good news for us. He’s an important figure in the locker room, for his mates when he’s playing.”