Man City Injury News: Rodri ACL fear, Kevin De Bruyne boost
Manchester City take on Watford in the EFL Cup in midweek as the games come thick and fast for the Premier League champions.
City saw their 100% start to the season come to an end on Sunday evening as they rescued a point from the jaws of defeat against title rivals Arsenal in an entertaining 2-2 draw.
Ahead of the welcome of Watford, here’s the current injury state of play for City...
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Oscar Bobb suffered a fractured leg in training last month, which was a blow for both player and club. Indeed, Bobb was expected to consolidate a regular first team spot for Manchester City this season but he'll be out until December following surgery.
While Manchester City came through the international break relatively unscathed, they still lost Nathan Ake to a thigh injury in the Netherlands' 2-2 draw with Germany earlier this month. "I think until the next international break," Guardiola said earlier this month when asked to put a timeframe on Ake's return.
Having been forced off in the 0-0 draw with Inter last week, Kevin De Bruyne sat out the 2-2 stalemate with Arsenal on Sunday owing to a groin problem. The Belgian was unlikely to have featured against Watford anyway and Pep Guardiola has since confirmed: "his injury is not a big, big one." While it remains to be seen whether he'll be available for the trip to Newcastle on Saturday, that the problem isn't as bad as initially feared is a boost.
Rodri lasted just 21 minutes on his first league start of the season as he was forced off midway through the first half with a knee issue. There are now concerns that the Euro 2024 winner and Manchester City's lynchpin will be out for a lengthy spell due to an ACL issue. "Rodri is strong, but he left the pitch, so for Rodri to do that, he must have felt something," Guardiola said after Sunday's draw with Arsenal. "He left in a bad way, he wasn’t very well, he asked to be substituted," Rodri's City teammate Bernardo Silva added.
It's too soon to tell how long the Spain international will be sidelined for but any prolonged absence will be a blow for City.
