Manchester City could be without as many as 10 players for Saturday’s Premier League match against Bournemouth, with Pep Guardiola saying his side were “in trouble” and claiming he has only 13 outfield players available as the injury woes at the Etihad continue.
Chasing a record-extending fifth straight league title, the reigning champions are the only unbeaten side in the division and sit top of the table heading into this weekend’s fixtures.
But a burgeoning injury crisis – worsened during City’s midweek Carabao Cup loss – could be threatening to derail that title defence ahead of a busy winter period.
The club already have six confirmed absentees, and Savinho and Manuel Akanji are the latest names who may now be facing a spell on the sidelines. The former left the field on a stretcher following a knock to his ankle in the second half, with the latter forced to withdraw from the starting line-up after aggravating a muscle issue in the warm-up.
Poking further holes in a backline already bereft of club captain Kyle Walker, Josko Gvardiol required treatment after Wednesday’s match in north London while Ruben Dias was said by his manager to be “struggling.”
Here are the latest updates on all the recent and ongoing injuries for City, as well as how Guardiola’s men could line up against Bournemouth on Saturday.
Rodri
The Ballon D’Or winning midfielder has been absent since his withdrawal early on in City’s clash against Arsenal in September with a knee injury.
City have since confirmed Rodri underwent surgery – “ACL and some meniscus,” according to Guardiola – and that their star Spaniard will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season.
Possible return date: Unknown
Oscar Bobb
Another long-term absentee is promising academy product Oscar Bobb.
The 21-year-old Norwegian winger looked set for a breakout campaign after standout performances in pre-season, but fractured his leg in training a week prior to City’s opener against Chelsea and was subsequently ruled out until at least the new year.
Guardiola has said more recently that the timeline for Bobb’s return could extend until February, with the player himself speaking publicly about his injury for the first time last week.
“It’s been just over two months now and we knew it was a long injury so I’m just focusing on getting a bit better every day and getting back,” Bobb told The National.
“Not as soon as possible, but as strong as possible. It was unfortunate, [but] I didn’t think of it as that bad just because I’ve seen loads of my friends get big injuries and a lot of them have come back stronger.
“So, I thought of it more as a pause rather than a setback.”
Possible return date: January – February 2025
Jack Grealish
Next comes a batch of players who have been out for varying lengths of time already this season and are expected to return before the likes of Rodri and Bobb, but for whom City’s trip to the Vitality Stadium will come too soon.
Among them is Jack Grealish, who earned his England spot back while enjoying a resurgence of form but hasn’t played since City’s late win over Wolves last month.
The former Aston Villa winger’s issue is an unspecified one, reportedly suffered in training after that match, which Guardiola initially said would put him out of action for a week or so – but it now looks set to keep him sidelined until later this month, with City’s home tie against Spurs on 23 November earmarked as a possible return date.
“No chance to play the next games,” was the City manager’s most recent comment on the matter.
Possible return date: 23 November
Kyle Walker
That update, from Guardiola’s post-match press conference during the week, applied to Kyle Walker as well.
City’s captain and veteran right-back has been out since the last international break while he deals with a niggling knee injury reportedly picked up on England duty.
Like his countryman, it looks like Walker will have to wait until after the next international break – November 11-19 – to make his return, leaving Guardiola with “no alternative” to the impressive but tiring Rico Lewis.
Possible return date: 23 November
Kevin de Bruyne
City’s creator-in-chief – who also missed a significant chunk of last season after undergoing surgery for a hamstring issue – was forced off with a groin injury at half-time of the Champions League campaign-opening stalemate against Inter Milan in September and has not featured since.
De Bruyne was initially projected by Guardiola to return after the October internationals, but as of this week the Belgian was still experiencing “discomfort” in training and is now eyeing up a potential comeback after the November international break instead.
Speaking this week about when his top playmaker might take to the field again, the City boss said: “I would like to tell you, I especially would like to know, but I don’t know.
“He feels better to train but to go to the level we need for competition he still has pain.
“If he doesn’t come back as quick as possible we will struggle. Hopefully that can happen after the international break.”
Possible return date: 23 November
Jéremy Doku
Rounding out the group ruled out until late November is Jeremy Doku.
The 22-year-old Belgium international is believed to have picked up his knock against Wolves on 20 October, and Guardiola has said he doesn’t expect the winger to return before the upcoming international break.
Possible return date: late November – early December
Savinho
As for the bunch that came away from City’s league cup loss worse for wear, Savinho was in tears as he was stretchered off with an apparent ankle injury on Wednesday.
Asked post-match about the Brazilian’s prognosis, Guardiola said: “We have to see if it [is] just a knock or something else, because it was on the bone. Hopefully it’s nothing dangerous, but we’ll see [on Thursday].”
Sources close to the player then reportedly said the knock was “nothing serious” and “just a scare” – but with Guardiola having offered no other significant insight, it remains to be seen whether he’ll be fit enough to take part at the weekend.
Asked for updates on the club’s injury situation, the City boss told reporters on Friday that he had “many doubts” and players who were “half-half” in terms of their availability, but refused to elaborate, adding: “Tomorrow you will know.”
He did confirm that Savinho was among those doubts and that the player had suffered a “strong” knock, but that there was “no fracture.”
Possible return date: 2 November
Manuel Akanji
Despite reportedly dealing with an unspecified muscular problem, Akanji was named in the starting line-up for the midweek cup clash with Spurs.
But the Swiss international aggravated the issue – reportedly involving his groin – in the warm-up and was subsequently replaced in the City XI by Dias.
Guardiola explained afterwards: “Akanji yesterday [in the] last action felt something in a muscular part of his body and today in the warm-up he didn’t feel good. He said, ‘No, I can take the risk’. I said, ‘Nuh-uh, no risk’.”
Akanji told Sky News on Thursday that he was hoping to be back in training on Friday and in contention to face Bournemouth on Saturday.
But there were no updates either way from his manager in Friday’s press conference.
Possible return date: 2 November
Josko Gvardiol
Gvardiol was on the turf at the end of Wednesday’s loss, and received treatment from the club’s medical staff after appearing to be in some discomfort.
Asked on Wednesday if the Croatian – a half-time substitute – was injured, Guardiola told the media: “I don’t know, I didn’t speak [with him]. Every time I went in [the dressing room], [someone] was on the table [having] a massage, it was too busy, too crowded. So I don’t know.”
The player himself appeared to alleviate any fears of a serious injury, though, posting on social media after the match: “Thanks for the support. We keep moving forward with full focus on Saturday!”
Possible return date: 2 November
Ruben Dias
Dias replaced Akanji in the starting line-up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but was then replaced himself (by Gvardiol) at half-time.
Speaking post-match about his Portuguese centre-back, Guardiola said: “Ruben is struggling sometimes as well in some moments. It’s been getting more difficult game by game; maybe we will be all back together at some point.”
There were no further updates provided in his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.
Possible return date: 2 November
How could Man City line up against Bournemouth?
With six first-team players confirmed out and the participation of several more in doubt, City’s thinning ranks are “in trouble” ahead of their Saturday 3pm kick-off on the south coast.
Speaking after his side were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, Guardiola said: “We have 13 [available] players, so we are in real difficulty. The guys that play, they finish most of them with problems and we’ll see how they recover.
He continued: “I think when we are in trouble, like we are – because in nine years it has never happened this situation with many, many injuries for many, many reasons – in these situations, the players they make a step forward and they are more together than ever and they will try to do this week in this short time to recover.
“It’s only that how many players we have able, but we have the academy and if the seniors cannot be there, we’ll do it. We’re going to Bournemouth to compete.”
A glance at the first-team squad list on City’s official website supports the Spaniard’s claim of having only 13 fit outfield players – including one yet to make his Premier League debut – if indeed Gvardiol and Dias are available this weekend.
They are:
Defenders
Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Rico Lewis, John Stones, Joshua Wilson-Esbrand
Midfielders
Phil Foden, Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic, James McAtee, Matheus Nunes, Bernardo Silva
Forwards:
Erling Haaland
Judging by Guardiola’s comments, whatever problems arose for the aforementioned pair midweek would appear to have been minor, suggesting they should be available for selection against Bournemouth.
Nathan Ake would be an able deputy if Guardiola were to opt for giving Gvardiol a rest, though, ahead of a busy week that sees City face two Premier League road games either side of a trip to Sporting Lisbon.
Gvardiol is enjoying a strong run of form, with three goals in his last four matches, but his manager’s wishful comments regarding rotation in the other full-back position could suggest changes are on the cards.
Phil Foden and Matheus Nunes will be in line to keep their starting berths in the absence of Doku, Grealish and Savinho, most likely lining up either side of Erling Haaland.
Mateo Kovacic, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva are the most experienced midfield trio and could be Guardiola’s preferred choices in the middle of the park to avoid an upset at the hands of the Cherries like title-chasing rivals Arsenal suffered two weeks ago.
But there could well be places in the squad for the likes of 18-year-old Jahmai Simpson-Pusey – who came on for his senior debut at Spurs during the week – as well as fellow youngsters Nico O’Reilly, Jacob Wright and James McAtee.
Man City predicted line-up vs Bournemouth
Ederson; Lewis, Stones, Dias, Ake; Kovačić, Gundogan, Bernardo; Foden, Haaland, Nunes