A familiar injury story has emerged for Manchester City

Before Manchester City beat Sunderland 3-nil at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, a surprise selection emerged when the teamsheets were released. John Stones wasn’t among the City substitutes for Saturday’s match. When fit, Stones had been a constant on the City bench. He did play the final half-hour of Manchester City’s 5-4 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Pep Guardiola revealed after his team’s impressive win over Sunderland that John Stones had suffered an injury that forced him to miss Saturday’s match at the Etihad. It is a familiar injury story for Manchester City given the recent injury history of John Stones.

John Stones has picked up an injury Pep Guardiola has revealed.

Speaking after Manchester City’s win over Sunderland, in quotes relayed by CityXtra, Pep Guardiola revealed that John Stones has sustained an unspecified injury. When asked why Stones wasn’t selected in the Manchester City squad for Saturday’s match at the Etihad, Pep Guardiola said: “He was injured, yes.” Guardiola added that he was unsure how long the England international would be sidelined for: “To be honest, I don’t know.”

Manchester City may have to soldier on without John Stones.

It remains to be seen just how long John Stones will be sidelined for. Whether or not he can play in Manchester City’s upcoming Champions League fixture against Real Madrid remains to be seen. A clue on this should emerge tomorrow. The City squad typically trains ahead of their Champions League matches. These sessions are usually broadcast on mancity.com. Pep Guardiola is also scheduled to front the media tomorrow. The hope is that more information on Stones’ injury will emerge tomorrow.

For now, it seems that City will have to soldier on without John Stones. Fortunately, Pep Guardiola’s squad is well-stocked with centre-backs. But none of Manchester City’s other centre-backs have the skill set of Stones. So it is a blow for Manchester City to lose the England international for a period of time. Just how long Stones is sidelined for, remains to be seen.