Manchester City take on Chelsea in the Champions League final later this month and there’s a big chance that Pep Guardiola could be without some really important players for this game.
The Citizens suffered a shock defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion in midweek and the captain for the night, Ilkay Gundogan seems to have picked up an injury.
The midfielder opened the scoring for Manchester City in the second minute of the match but he had to be taken off in the 56th minute and speaking after the match, manager Pep Guardiola revealed that Gundogan has picked up a slight injury.
“He was injured a little bit. It was a kick, he started the second half and had niggles in his muscle because he couldn’t run properly,” Guardiola revealed. “That’s why we made the substitution.”
Apart from this one on-field setback, Man City were also without Raheem Sterling, Kyle Walker and Sergio Aguero and according to the club’s official website, the trio was not fully fit to make it to the matchday squad.
Mancity.com said in one of their pre-match statements: “Raheem Sterling, Kyle Walker and Sergio Aguero are not fully fit.”
Right now, none of these injuries look serious so there’s nothing to worry about just yet. We will get a clear indication of the extent of these injuries when Manchester City face Everton in their final Premier League game of the season.
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Manchester City have already wrapped up the league title so Guardiola does not need to risk any unnecessary players on Sunday. And given they face Chelsea in the Champions League final a week after that, all the four players should be back to full fitness by then.
Ilkay Gundogan has been one of the more important players for City this season so Pep Guardiola will surely be a bit concerned with his recovery timeline but to be honest, the others are not too much of a worry for the manager.
Sergio Aguero has hardly gotten any first-team game time this season and in the final, there’s a big chance that Guardiola will once again deploy a false nine.
Also, Raheem Sterling has fallen down the pecking order over the past couple of months and it’s Phil Foden who is now the first-choice left-winger for Manchester City. Kyle Walker’s absence can also be backed up by Joao Cancelo.
