Pep Guardiola provides fresh Manuel Akanji injury update ahead of Newcastle clash

Pep Guardiola has provided an an update on the injury status of Manuel Akanji after the defender was substituted against Huddersfield Town.

Manchester City have not been immune to the injury-bug that has swept across European football this season. The Blues have been without a plethora of first-team stars throughout the first-half of the campaign.

Throughout stretches of the 2023/24 season, City have been without John Stones, Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, Mateo Kovacic, Jack Grealish, and Kevin De Bruyne among other senior players.

More recently, Swiss defender Manuel Akanji was forced off in Manchester City’s FA Cup clash with Huddersfield Town last weekend, adding to the growing list of wounded players in Pep Guardiola’s squad.

Speaking ahead of the Etihad outfit’s Premier League showdown with Newcastle United at St. James’s Park this weekend, Guardiola provided an update on the centre-back.

“Yeah, Manuel Akanji as well is injured,” Guardiola said.

“Manu as well, yeah he had an action against Huddersfield, he’ll be some weeks out, few weeks. I don’t know about the FA Cup against Spurs, or Burnley, if he’ll be ready.”

“Now we are lucky that we don’t have games in the next 10 days, after tomorrow’s game against Newcastle, but we will see in Abu Dhabi with a good weather how they feel.”

City head into the match in the north east five points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, though the Etihad club do have a game in hand on Jurgen Klopp’s men heading into the weekend.

After the showdown at St. James’s Park on Saturday, Manchester City will head to Abu Dhabi for warm-weather training. They will return to action on January 26 with an FA Cup fourth round tie against Tottenham Hotspur.