Man City’s injury woes in defence have worsened after a double blow for Pep Guardiola on Tuesday night as they were in Champions League action.
The reigning Premier League champions are already without a string of key individuals with Aymeric Laporte a long-term absentee, while John Stones is steadily making his comeback.
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As noted by BBC Sport, both Kyle Walker and Nicolas Otamendi returned to training after suffering their own setbacks last week, and so while there are individuals on the mend, the last thing that Guardiola needed in midweek was further problems.
As per freelance injury analyst Ben Dinnery in his tweet below, Oleksandr Zinchenko pulled out with a knee injury ahead of their clash against Atalanta in the Champions League, and so it remains to be seen whether or not that setback is severe enough to force him to miss additional playing time too.
Manchester City confirms Oleksandr Zinchenko has suffered a knee injury which ruled him out of this evenings @ChampionsLeague encounter at home to Atalanta.
? https://t.co/3OsRCOYAmr#MCFC
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) October 22, 2019
However, there was worse news to come for Man City as having already started the game against Atalanta with two defensive midfielders in the heart of their backline in Rodri and Fernandinho, the former was forced off in the first half with a hamstring injury.
In turn, that could now see him spend a spell on the sidelines and with such a tricky injury and the risk of aggravating the problem, it remains to be seen how long he’s ruled out for.
With that in mind, it’s another huge blow for Guardiola as he would have been desperate to avoid further setbacks and instead get players back to start moving towards a full squad being at his disposal.
He now faces two fresh headaches ahead of the clash with Aston Villa at the weekend, although they’ve seemingly got their work cut out against Atalanta having been forced to come from behind to lead at the break.
[39'] Manchester City 2-1 Atalanta
Rodri down injured. Hamstring.#MCIATA
— Man City Xtra (@City_Xtra) October 22, 2019
