Manchester City are worried about the outcome of the tests that will be carried out on Rúben Dias and Joško Gvardiol, which will leave them without two key defenders for the foreseeable future.
The Citizens hosted Chelsea at the Etihad in their latest Premier League outing. The match ended in a draw, which was a hard-fought one for both sides. The hosts went ahead in the first half thanks to a Tijjani Reijnders strike and spurned quite a few chances to double the lead. Enzo Fernández would get a scrappy goal for the visitors in the dying minutes to salvage a point for a Chelsea side in transition from Enzo Maresca.
The draw kept City in second place, six points behind leaders Arsenal. Chelsea, on the other hand, are fifth as they head into matchweek 21, which begins on Tuesday.
While the draw will give City boss Pep Guardiola things to think about, the Spaniard is more worried about having to navigate the foreseeable future without Gvardiol and Dias, who were both taken out of the game after picking up knocks.
Gvardiol had to be helped off the pitch after an awkward collision on the halfway line early in the second half. And 10 minutes from the end of normal time, Dias was forced off with the game on a knife-edge.
It’s too early to know the extent of both players’ issues, but the City boss admitted, during his post-match comments, that it could be a double defensive setback.
“We will see tomorrow [about Gvardiol], but it doesn’t look good for him or Ruben,” said Guardiola. “Yes, it looks like [Dias has a muscle injury]. I didn’t speak with the doctor but if Ruben is out, it is because he felt something
“Of course we have a lot [of injuries]. John Stones has been missing for many months; Ruben will be out, and Josko will be out. Always we know with Nathan that he cannot play regularly.
“After what happened last season, if we stay strong, we will find a solution, and the spirit will be there. “If the spirit is there, we will be there.”
Guardiola also expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the match, despite the hiccup in their title charge. “We managed quite well in the first half,” he said.
“In the second half they had chances. We lost two balls in the beginning. We missed talented players at the end – two against one and three against two. “They didn’t create much. We were extraordinary in all departments except we could not score a second or a third or a fourth.
“Of course in the second half they made a step up – in the first half they were a little more cautious and then had nothing to lose, and at the end they found the reward.”