Ruben Dias: Manchester City defender ruled out for ‘three or four weeks’
Manchester City have suffered a fresh injury blow with manager Pep Guardiola confirming Portugal centre-back Ruben Dias will be out for “three to four weeks” with a muscle injury.
Dias, who picked up the injury in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Manchester United, will miss the entire festive period and is likely to miss the FA Cup third round tie against Salford on January 11.
The 27-year-old also faces a battle to regain fitness for City’s crucial Champions League trip against Paris Saint-Germain on January 22.
Dias has missed seven games this season with a calf injury, with John Stones, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and Kyle Walker all missing at various points on the defensive injury list , and Ballon d’Or winner Rodri will also miss this season’s games. He will miss the remainder of the domestic season after sustaining a cruciate ligament injury in his knee.
“It’s a muscle problem and he will be out for three to four weeks,” Guardiola said.
“After the 75th minute against Manchester United he felt something. But he was strong and wanted to stay on the pitch. Now he’s injured.”
Guardiola confirmed Stones, Akanji and midfielder Mateo Kovacic have all trained this week and could feature against Aston Villa on Saturday (12:30 GMT) But he said goalkeeper Ederson was “doubtful” due to an unspecified issue.
City currently have one win in 11 games and Guardiola has surprised with the use of youngsters James McCarty and Nico O’Reilly.
Despite numerous loan options, City decided to keep both players. Yet McCarty has only made two substitute appearances – both coming at the last minute – while O’Reilly has yet to make his league debut.
But they appear set to remain at the club for the second half of the season, with Guardiola replying “I don’t think so” when asked if the players could leave during the January transfer window.
