Pep Guardiola has confirmed John Stones suffered an injury during the 2-1 Premier League defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday.
Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers scored in a deserved victory for the hosts, while Phil Foden’s late goal was not enough for City.
Stones, who has been struggling with injury all season, started at centre-back but was replaced by Kyle Walker at half-time.
Guardiola confirmed the England international had suffered a fresh setback when speaking after the game.
Asked if the decision to take Stones off was tactical or down to an injury, the City boss said: “I would say I'm not in the right moment to make tactical and creative changes."
The news is the latest injury blow for City, who lost Ruben Dias for up to a month of action with a muscle injury before the Villa game.
City’s crisis has seen them fall to nine defeats in 12 games but Guardiola is optimistic of turning the worst run of his storied career around.
“I have incredible trust in these guys, some of them have incredible pride and the desire to do it, and we have to, I have to find a way to sooner or later, step by step, come back,” he said.
The champions slipped to sixth in the Premier League table and host Everton on Boxing Day.
