Ruben Dias hasn't trained for Manchester City for ten days, Pep Guardiola confirmed, while Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne are also doubts for the FA Cup final vs Manchester United next week
De Bruyne played at Brighton on Wednesday but missed the trip to Brentford, while Grealish, Dias and Manu Akanji all missed their second games in succession. Guardiola had hinted at 'niggles' among some players after the Premier League was secured, and speaking after City's loss at the Gtech Stadium Guardiola said the quartet were 'mentally drained'.
While the manager hoped all four would recover in time to face United at Wembley in six days time, Guardiola's assessment of their absences was not an optimistic one.
ALSO READ: City player ratings vs Brentford as Lewis impresses again
"We had four, five players with niggles, not injuries. They were not fit for a few days," Guardiola said, adding that other players on the bench - like Rodri, John Stones, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Erling Haaland - were also feeling the effects of tiredness.
"The guys who don't play here were really exhausted yesterday, we spoke with them, they said they are mentally completely drained. The guys who play today deserve it, the minutes for Nathan [Ake]. Aymer [Laporte] comes back again with 90 minutes. Kyle [Walker] we couldn't give him time to rest, because I don't have many substitutions. They needed to rest. Now to arrive with the right energy for United and the final of the Champions League."
Asked if the absent players would return next week, Guardiola said: "I don't know. Wednesday they will train, or recovery session tomorrow. Hopefully, right now I don't know.
"The guys who are in Manchester, Ruben didn't train for ten days, Jack Grealish neither. After Brighton Kevin felt the same feelings as before weeks ago. They couldn't play a few games. Not a big issue. I think they will be ready. They have to be ready in the training sessions. That's why today was so important to see these players how they are. Phil [Foden] is in incredible form, Riyad [Mahrez] play really well, Cole [Palmer] so active in many things.
"We have to play who feels better in the final. That's why it was good today to play with these guys and rest the other ones. hopefully other players can recover."
