Manchester City defender holds injury ‘fears’ ahead of Arsenal visit – Player undergoing further scans | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola’s injury woes ahead of the visit of Arsenal are unlikely to be improved through John Stones and his status following a problem picked up against Belgium.

The England international sustained yet another injury setback during the recent national team break, limping off inside 10 minutes with an adductor injury during a 2-2 draw between Gareth Southgate’s side and Belgium earlier this week.

Stones is likely to be assessed by Manchester City medical staff across the course of the week, and in the lead up to the Premier League champions’ hugely important meeting with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium.

Pep Guardiola will be hoping the injury is not too serious, as his side find themselves at the start line of a mammoth run of games across all competitions, with fixtures in the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League in a 25-day period.

While the Catalan coach will be hoping to be able to call upon John Stones in the coming matches, a new report has detailed the level of pessimism from the part of the player, after he returned to Manchester on Wednesday.

That is according to the information of the Daily Star’s Jeremy Cross, who reports that John Stones is currently ‘losing his battle to be fit’ for Manchester City’s Premier League meeting with title challengers Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.

It is detailed that the versatile central defender is undergoing scans in Manchester having returned from international duty. However, Stones is claimed to be ‘not hopeful’ of being available in time to line up against Mikel Arteta’s squad.

That leaves Pep Guardiola with significantly restricted options in his defensive line, with Stones also joined by Kyle Walker and Manuel Akanji in being major fitness doubts for the weekend’s meeting with Arsenal.

Elsewhere in the squad and Matheus Nunes and Ederson are also in doubt over their availability for the weekend, with the latter continuing in his recovery from a thigh injury sustained against Liverpool earlier this month.

Following the meeting with Arsenal, Manchester City welcome Aston Villa to the Etihad Stadium before taking on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in a trio of successive Premier League meetings that could have a significant bearing on the ongoing title race.