Manchester City defender ruled out until after international break in latest injury setback

John Stones will be sidelined for a number of weeks in a fresh injury blow to Manchester City, Pep Guardiola has revealed.

Manchester City made it two wins from two in the Premier League on Saturday evening, beating Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium, courtesy of Julian Alvarez’s stunning strike in the 31st minute.

Pep Guardiola didn’t make a substitution during the match, as the Catalan manages an ongoing injury crisis; after Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones, Bernardo Silva and Aymeric Laporte all missed the hard-fought victory.

De Bruyne underwent surgery on Friday and is set to miss a significant portion of the campaign, with the 32-year-olds hamstring injury sidelining the Belgian for an estimated four to five months.

Meanwhile Silva, who missed Wednesday’s maiden UEFA Super Cup win over Sevilla in Athens, was also absent from the matchday squad on Saturday, with Guardiola hopeful of welcoming the midfielder back for next weekend’s visit to Sheffield United.

It has been revealed that the absence of Laporte was due to the Spaniard’s imminent move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr – with the defender set to complete a £23.5 million move this week.

Guardiola has been hit with a fresh setback however, with John Stones ruled out until after the September international break.

The Englishman hasn’t featured for Manchester City since starting the FA Community Shield loss to Arsenal at Wembley Stadium at the start of the month.

Speaking after Saturday’s win at the Etihad Stadium, Guardiola confirmed the latest injury blow.

“We have to come back, you know how the people come back because John (Stones) until after the international break will not be ready, and Kevin (De Bruyne) four or five months.”

Stones, who has already missed three matches, is set to be absent for upcoming Premier League games against Sheffield United and Fulham.

Manchester City return to action after the international break on Saturday 16th September, facing West Ham United at the London Stadium prior to their opening UEFA Champions League Group Stage match.

The 52-year-old was also unsure whether Silva would return for next weekend’s match, with Manchester City not having a midweek game ahead of Sunday’s trip to Bramall Lane.

“Hopefully Bernardo (Silva)… Errrr… Hmmmm… And, yeah I think… But Bernardo I don’t know when he’s coming back, maybe tomorrow (Sunday).

“The rest, I don’t know. But we have eight days now, one or two days rest because it has been so demanding since Arsenal and everything.

“We are going to try and train a little bit on our principles and our concepts that we have to do.”

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