Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed that John Stones will be sidelined for “a while” after being forced off in Tuesday’s Champions League win over Young Boys.
The European champions produced a dominant display to book their place in the knockout rounds with two games to spare.
Erling Haaland, who was an injury doubt before the matche, opened the scoring from the penalty spot, before Phil Foden doubled the advantage in first-half stoppage time.
Haaland netted his second and Man City’s third within six minutes of the restart, ensuring the hosts cruised to a 3-0 victory over a Young Boys side who played the majority of the second period with 10 men, following Sandro Lauper’s sending off.
While it proved to be a successful evening, Man City’s progression to the last 16 was somewhat overshadowed by an injury to Stones.
The 29-year-old was replaced by Nathan Ake at the break after sustaining an injury in the first half of Tuesday’s contest.
Speaking after the comfortable victory, Guardiola revealed the England international is set to face a spell on the sidelines.
Guardiola told TNT Sports: “Unfortunately, John, he’s out again. I feel so sorry for him because he’s an incredible professional and committed and he’s a big loss for us. John is so important with what he does but yeah, recover, the season is long, and he will be back soon.”
When asked whether Stones will be out of action for a while, Guardiola replied: “Yeah, think so”.
The Man City boss later added in his post-match press conference: “It’s a muscular injury so will be a while out. It’s a pity, it’s bad news for us.”
Stones has already been hampered by injury this season after a hip issue kept him sidelined for the first two months of the campaign.
As a result, the versatile defender has been restricted to just six appearances across all competitions this season.
Centre-back Manuel Akanji also missed the win over Young Boys despite being initially named in the starting lineup.
Guardiola confirmed Akanji, who was replaced by Kyle Walker, was unable to take his place in the side due to a back spasm.
Man City, who have a narrow one-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, will now start preparing for Sunday’s clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
