Manchester City sustain major injury blow during warm-up ahead of Tottenham cup clash | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have sustained yet another injury blow, this time during the warm-ups ahead of their Carabao Cup meeting with Tottenham.

The latest fitness problem comes at a crucial period for the Premier League champions, who face a run of four consecutive away fixtures including the visit to the capital city on Wednesday night.

Back-to-back visits to the south coast of England will then follow in the Premier League against Bournemouth and Brighton & Hove Albion, sandwiched by a venture into Europe for Champions League action.

That comes against Ruben Amorim’s Sporting Lisbon, who will be nervously awaiting whether their 39-year-old head coach will still be in charge by that point of their season amid strong interest from Manchester United.

But as focus remains very much on the task at hand and the immediate fixture on the horizon, Pep Guardiola has been struck by his seventh injury problem and potential absentee for the upcoming games.

As confirmed by Manchester City in the build-up to kick-off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the fourth round tie in the Carabao Cup, Ruben Dias came in for Manuel Akanji at the heart of the Premier League champions’ defence.

Reporting from television broadcasters in north London confirmed that the late change to Manchester City’s line-up came as a result of a calf issue sustained by Manuel Akanji in the warm-ups.

The Swiss international becomes Manchester City’s seventh injury and sidelined player after a host of problems sustained in recent weeks, adding to the long-term problems being handled by both Oscar Bobb and Rodri.

The international break in October brought yet more concerns for Pep Guardiola’s side, with Kyle Walker picking up a knee problem that has restricted him from partaking in any training sessions since Manchester City’s return to action.

Jeremy Doku has also picked up an injury during a recent contest with the belief being that the Belgian sustained a problem in the 1-2 away win against Wolves, while Jack Grealish picked up an issue in the following training session.

Kevin De Bruyne remains sidelined and lacking in match fitness having picked up a groin problem during the 0-0 draw against Inter on matchday one of the UEFA Champions League’s league phase in September.