Man City's current injury crisis has left them with 13 fit senior players - with a number facing a race against time to be fit to face Liverpool next month
Man City face an injury crisis as they look to retain top spot in the Premier League table ahead of Liverpool this weekend. After his side’s League Cup exit to Tottenham Hotspur in midweek, Pep Guardiola declared he had only 13 fit players.
City were handed a number of fresh injury blows in the clash with Spurs as Manuel Akanji withdrew from the starting XI, Savinho was stretchered off, Ruben Dias was replaced at half-time and Josko Gvardiol received treatment after the game.
“Tomorrow we have two 'keepers and Erling Haaland for a training session and we don't have anything else," Guardiola said after losing to Tottenham. "We are 13 players. We are in real difficulty but we have to make the effort.
“The guys who played, most finished with problems and we will see how they recover. I think when we are in trouble like we are - because in nine years I have never had this many injuries for this many reasons - in these situations, the players make a step forward, they are more together than ever and we will try to do this week in a short time for recovery.
"[Savinho] had a knock in the 18-yard box for a potential penalty and we will see tomorrow what happened. We have to see just a knock, or maybe something else. It was in the bone. Hopefully it is nothing dangerous but we will see tomorrow.
"Akanji yesterday in the last action felt something muscular in the meniscus and today in the warm-up he didn't feel good. He said he could take a risk but I said no. Ruben is struggling sometimes as well. It's been getting more difficult game by game but maybe one day we will be all together."
According to Premier Injuries, City are currently without nine first team players, with only Ipswich Town suffering more absentees in the English top-flight. However, such a total does not include the ‘struggling’ Dias.
Admittedly, the likes of Akanji and Gvardiol could be passed fit in time to travel to AFC Bournemouth on Saturday. But City are still set to be without a considerable number of players until at least after the November international break.
As a result, a number of Guardiola’s players could be doubts for their visit to Liverpool on December 1.
After travelling to Bournemouth this weekend, City face away trips to Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday and Brighton & Hove Albion next weekend prior to the international break.
Upon club football’s return later this month, they host Tottenham Hotspur on November 23 and Feyenoord on November 26 ahead of their trip to Anfield on December 1.
Rodri has been ruled out for the season with an ACL injury, while Oscar Bobb is not expected to return from injury until at least January, with the two long-term absentees certain to miss the trip to Liverpool as a result.
Meanwhile, Guardiola has already confirmed that Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Kyle Walker won’t return until after the international break. Jeremy Doku is also not expected back from injury until after the break, with the quartet facing a race against the clock to return and prove their fitness ahead of their top-of-the-table clash with the Reds.
Elsewhere, City are waiting to find out the severity of Savinho’s ankle injury after he was stretchered off against Tottenham.
While Guardiola’s walking wounded have time on their hands to return ahead of trip to Anfield, he will be hoping that City’s injury crisis does not get any worse before it starts to get better. The Spaniard is set to offer an injury update when he faces the media on Friday ahead of his side's trip to Bournemouth.