Man City take on Newcastle United in the Premier League on Boxing Day and right before this crucial game, Gabriel Jesus and Kyle Walker along with two other staff members have tested positive for the coronavirus.
City released an official statement saying: “Manchester City FC can confirm that Gabriel Jesus, Kyle Walker, and two members of staff have tested positive for COVID-19.
“All four personnel will now observe a period of self-isolation in accordance with Premier League and UK Government protocol on quarantine.
“Everyone at the Club wishes our colleagues a speedy recovery over the Christmas period ahead of their return to work, training and competition.”
This is a massive blow for manager Pep Guardiola since Man City have a string of important fixtures coming up during the next fortnight.
The absence of Gabriel Jesus and Kyle Walker should not be too big an issue for City this weekend as their opponents, Newcastle United have won just five games this season in the Premier League.
But the real issue for the manager will come after this game as they are due to take on Everton and Chelsea within the next eight days.
This new situation means both Walker and Gabriel Jesus are going to miss these two important matches as they are required to self-isolate for a period of 10 days.
Gabriel Jesus has been an ever-present figure in attack for Manchester City this season and with Sergio Aguero just coming back from injury, the Brazilian will be a big miss.
Kyle Walker has missed just one Premier League game this season but now that he’s out for atleast 10 days, Joao Cancelo will play at right-back.
City are currently eighth in the league table and with two key players out, the likes of Newcastle United, Everton and Chelsea will be looking to pick up a win against the Citizens.
