Pep Guardiola
Stones and Dias missed Manchester City’s trip to Bournemouth. Guardiola hinted before the match that both players would be sidelined ‘for a little bit of a long time,’ translating to post-international break availability for Dias. Stones is dealing with plantar fasciitis, which prevented his participation against Bournemouth. Guardiola also discussed the return of Kyle Walker, marking his first appearance since an international break, and noted Nathan Ake’s perseverance through pain during the match at Vitality Stadium.
In response to the ongoing injury issues, Guardiola provided insight into the team’s current condition.
Pep Guardiola said, “[We have players with rhythm. But we have other players with a lack of rhythm.] [Ruben will be out until the international break. Manu [Akanji] and Nathan make an incredible effort to be there, Kyle as well has been 18 days without one training session with us and today was there. Rico [Lewis], a lot of minutes, he was tired.] [This is the position, we tried to handle [the squad] at Spurs the minutes to be fresh here. We couldn’t handle it, they were another pace today.]”
Guardiola encouraged his players to push through their injuries as they faced Bournemouth. He elaborated on his decision-making process regarding Ake’s participation against his former club.
Pep Guardiola said, “[Manu and Nathan were not in really good condition. Until the last moment I didn’t know if Nathan could play.] [He said ‘no, I want to try.’ After 2-0 I decide to not put extra pressure on it, we need him for next Tuesday.] [There are seasons sometimes this kind of things happen more than others. Sooner or later the team will be back.]”
Looking ahead, the availability of Jack Grealish remains uncertain, and assessments are due for Ake, Akanji, and Stones prior to the Champions League match against Sporting.
