Manchester City will be without John Stones, Jack Grealish and Mateo Kovacic for this weekend’s clash with West Ham. Pep Guardiola confirmed the trio will be out in his pre-game press conference.
Speaking before City’s trip to London Guardiola explained the injury situation with the key trio. Pep said: “They are both Injured (Stones and Grealish). They aren’t able for tomorrow. I don’t know (how long for) – I don’t think they will be ready for Red Star, but we will see, step by step. The injury for Jack is not muscular, but he has an incredible knock on his knee. Still, the damage is there. John is still a little better, but has a disturbance in his muscles.”
Pep explained the Kovacic situation. The Croatian missed his country’s recent Euro 24 qualifiers with a back injury. Guardiola told the media: “It is something muscular, and not a big issue but he’ll be out for tomorrow.”
With the key trio out for Saturday’s trip to London it may provide the opportunity for Matheus Nunes to debut. The Portuguese midfielder was signed by the treble winners on deadline day and is yet to feature for his new club.
Another player who may come into contention is Kalvin Phillips. The England international got through 90 minutes midweek for his country and may feature against West Ham. Phillips is determined to fight for a place in Guardiola’s squad and may get a chance to prove his worth this weekend.
The European champions have made a perfect start to their chase for a fourth consecutive Premier League title, they’ll look to continue that despite missing key players against West Ham. City will be hoping the trio may be available for the UEFA Champions League which begins midweek.
