Pep Guardiola provides major injury update on Manchester City star ahead of Arsenal visit

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has provided a significant update on the fitness of star defender Nathan Ake during his pre-match press conference.

The Dutch international defender was replaced during the second-half of Manchester City’s 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, with what appeared to be a problem concerning his hamstring.

Pep Guardiola’s mainstay left-back during the second-half of the ongoing season was then spotted walking gingerly an hour later upon leaving the Munich arena with the rest of the Manchester City squad en route.

That problem forced Ake to play no part in Manchester City’s Emirates FA Cup semi-final clash against Sheffield United on Saturday evening – a game that saw the Blues win 3-0 and feature Sergio Gomez fill in at left-back in place of the injured Netherlands star.

Now, ahead of the visit of Arsenal in a mammoth Premier League encounter that could have major implications on the direction of this season’s top-flight crown, manager Pep Guardiola has delivered a significant update on the fitness of his left-sided full-back.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference on Tuesday afternoon, the Catalan coach said when asked whether Ake would be available, “No. Hopefully he can come back soon, get well soon, but for tomorrow he’s not ready.”

On how he would replace the presence of his star defender, Pep Guardiola continued, “Yeah, but we’ll find the right player to do it, I don’t have doubts about that. We’ll play with 11 (players).”

Phil Foden completed his return to full fitness on Saturday, moving him closer towards being in contention for a starting place in Pep Guardiola’s matchday squads, after he featured from the substitutes bench against Sheffield United.

As for this week’s contest, Manchester City can move to within just two points of Arsenal should they record a victory on Wednesday night, while also maintaining two games in hand on Mikel Arteta and his players.