Pep Guardiola has confirmed John Stones will miss this weekend’s derby, but his prognosis is better than first feared.
The Manchester City defender hobbled off during England’s Nations League clash with Germany and concerns were instantly raised about the length of a potential lay-off. The Three Lions kick-off their campaign in Qatar in six weeks and Stones is a vital part of Gareth Southgate’s plans.
But Guardiola has revealed the centre-back is only in line to miss a couple of weeks, with the 28-year-old at the lower end of the scale when it comes to hamstring injuries. “It will not be four, five or six weeks, it will be less,” Guardiola admitted.
“Normally hamstrings are between four and six weeks. To be honest I don’t know when he will come back, but I think maybe two weeks, 10 days.”
But while Stones will be absent vs Manchester United on Sunday, Aymeric Laporte is in line for his first appearance of the season. The France international has been sidelined for the early weeks of the new campaign, having gone under the knife in the summer.
Guardiola added: “He was injured for a long time. What is important is what we see in training, he’s moving well. His ability with the pass is exceptional. It’s important to come back for this crazy schedule to have another player, it’s so important.”
It will either be Nathan Ake or Manuel Akanji to partner Ruben Dias from the start against the Red Devils. Akanji has impressed since his summer switch from Borussia Dortmund, with his boss full of praise for the way he has presented himself.
“He has played really well since he arrived, we cannot deny that. He has all the skills we need. He’s a professional, serious and intelligent person. He’s well prepared here [points to head] and he’s another option we have for a long, long season.”
Another player ruled out for not only this weekend, but for several weeks is Kalvin Phillips. The former Leeds midfielder has endured a disjointed start to life at City, suffering with issues surrounding his troublesome shoulder.
Earlier this month Phillips decided surgery would be his best option, a choice Guardiola strongly agreed with. The City manager stated that the operation was an overwhelming success with an outside chance he could be involved for England when Southgate names his 26-man squad next month.
“He feels good. The surgery was good, he almost has full mobility and he’s getting better,” he explained. “He took the right decision otherwise he couldn’t move forward. Every training session or every two days [gestures to shoulder], it was coming out.
“Now he’s solved this problem and he can get ready to come back. Hopefully in time to go to the World Cup and after the World Cup, he can come with us.”
As for their opponents, Erik ten Hag offered an update on the status of forwards Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford, while confirming Harry Maguire’s injury would keep him out of the game altogether.
"Harry Maguire is injured. For the rest we have some doubts," Ten Hag told the media ahead of Sunday's clash. “Anthony Martial but he was training all week with the group, performing really well, makes a good impression. Marcus Rashford he returns into training so we are happy with that."
