Gvardiol blow does not mean Manchester City will be active in January transfer window, says Guardiola
Manchester City have suffered yet another defensive injury blow
Pep Guardiola confirmed Josko Gvardiol will be sidelined for a “long time”, adding to a defensive shortage, but insisted that does not necessarily mean Manchester City will be active in the January window.
Gvardiol broke a shin bone in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea, a game in which fellow defender Ruben Dias also sustained a hamstring injury that will keep him out for most of January.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow night’s game with Brighton, Guardiola said:”Dias? It is a hamstring. Four to six weeks. Gvardiol is out for a long time.”
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Forgotten man Stones also absent
Added to their absences is John Stones, who continues to struggle with niggling problems that have seen him miss the bulk of the last season and a half.
Guardiola added: “He is a really important player for us. For a long time he was injured last season and this season apparently it looks like the same.
“He is trying a lot to do everything but he is not fit.
“Everybody knows it [the injury situation is difficult].
“We have Nathan [Ake] back, a central defender. Max Alleyne has come back from his loan at Watford. We appreciate Watford for what they have done for the young lad. That is the situation. We can cope.”
Guardiola plays down talk of busy window for Manchester City
There has been speculation City have joined the race for England centre-half Marc Guehi, who is likely to be available on a cut-price deal with his Crystal Palace contract expiring in the summer.
Liverpool and Bayern Munich are also interested but Guardiola says the club have to balance short-term needs for longer-term sustainability.
“We have six or seven injured,” he said. “If you have 35 players in the squad it cannot be sustainable financially. You have to make financially our numbers but I was really pleased with the squad we had in pre-season and the season right now. It’s what it is. During the years this happens sometimes.
“Josko and Ruben will be back soon and John as well and the players from AFCON will be back. We will survive this period and go for the next one. I am so confident and positive that we will do it.”
City were the biggest spenders in the Premier League last January, splashing out around £180million to bring in the likes of Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov.
Guardiola does not expect a repeat this month, adding: “Maybe we get something but it is completely different [to last season]. We are not going to buy four our five players like last season.”
City go into the Brighton game having drawn their last two games – against Sunderland and Chelsea – and slipped six points behind leaders Arsenal as a result.