Early team news: John Stones adds to Pep Guardiola’s injury woes ahead of Manchester City vs Newcastle (Premier League)

John Stones has added to Manchester City’s growing injury concerns ahead of kick-off at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday night, it has been confirmed.

Manchester City close off a hectic start to the new season with their third contest in a matter of days, as they take on Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United without any routine training sessions since their UEFA Super Cup win against Sevilla on Wednesday night.

City claimed their maiden success in another European competition after a 1-1 draw against the Europa League experts in Athens was followed up by a 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory thanks to a decisive fifth and final penalty from captain on the night Kyle Walker.

Manchester City returned from Greece late on Thursday evening, and Pep Guardiola confirmed during his pre-match press conference that his side would not be undergoing any formal training sessions before facing off against the Magpies this weekend.

Ahead of the release of official starting line-ups on Saturday evening, John Stones is understood to have sustained a muscular problem during City’s training session in Athens following the win in the Super Cup, ruling him out of this weekend’s action.

Kevin De Bruyne is another confirmed absentee after the Belgium international captain underwent successful surgery on a reoccurring hamstring problem in Antwerp, that is expected to keep him out of the side until early 2024.

Bernardo Silva is a doubt for the meeting against Eddie Howe’s impressive outfit after being ruled out of the clash against Sevilla through illness, while Ruben Dias may return after recovering from concussion sustained in training last week.

That possibility has been confirmed, with Ruben Dias starting for Manchester City on Saturday night. Aymeric Laporte is also absent amid strong transfer links to Saudi Arabia and Al Nassr.

Pep Guardiola and Eddie Howe are expected to confirm their respective starting line-ups at approximately 19:00 BST on Saturday night.

Now confirmed.