The physical toll of last season’s treble campaign has been laid bare by Pep Guardiola. As Manchester City prepare to face Newcastle at the Etihad, several key players will be missing due to small injuries, or in Kevin De Bruyne’s case a major one.
John Stones will miss the clash, along with Kevin De Bruyne. Stones has picked up a slight injury as reported by Pep Guardiola in his pre-game press conference. When asked who would be available for the crunch clash he answered: “John is out and Bernardo is out, and Ruben I don’t know. Ruben, maybe he will be fit. Stones are a muscular issue. Last training, he did not feel comfortable. I don’t know how long he will be out.”
Last season’s treble-winning heroics have come at a cost to begin this season. City’s star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is already out until the new year as he recovers from hamstring surgery. Ruben Dias, John Stones and Bernardo Silva are either out or in doubt for Saturday’s game.
The amount of football being played, and the minimal break for City’splayersr over the off-season is surely a factor in the City squad being so depleted so early in the campaign. With only 4 weeks off, and 4 weeks of pre-season to prepare, Pep Guardiola’s squad is playing catch up with other sides to be fit and firing for this season.
Saturday’s clash with Newcastle will be the treblewinner’ss fourth match of the new season. As the amount of football increases on the back of last season’s success, a slow start may be on the cards for Manchester City this season.
Rest assured though that Pep Guardiola will have his side ready for the challenges that lie ahead in the early part of the season.
