Rival watch: Man City manager confirms two injury doubts ahead of Real Madrid clash | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Kyle Walker and John Stones will be absent from their upcoming matches, leaving them in a race against time to recover for the clash against Real Madrid.

This setback for the English team comes as both players sustained injuries while on international duty with England.

Guardiola anticipates that Walker’s recovery period will be longer than Stones’, however, the exact duration of their absence is yet to be determined as the manager awaits further information on their injuries.

“Kyle and John are out [against Arsenal],” said Guardiola as quoted by the Independent.

“It is what it is. [The injury for] Kyle is tougher than John but I don’t know how many games,” he added.

Meanwhile, it is said that Manuel Akanji, who missed training on Thursday, is expected to be fit to fill one of the defensive positions.

Additionally, Ederson is poised to return to the goalpost after recovering from a thigh injury sustained during the draw against Liverpool.

Grealish could be back though

On the other hand, Jack Grealish returned to the training field and seems ready to make his comeback after being sidelined for a month.

Grealish could be back. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

It is to be noted that the English player had to miss out on national team duties recently due to groin injuries. Nevertheless, he was spotted back in action during training sessions.

“It’s been a long time since he played but it’s a decision we will take tomorrow but you also have to see the calendar that we have,” said Guardiola about the forward.

“If we want to fight in all competitions we need all the players. We have enough and the calendar doesn’t look good for us but it is what it is.”

Lastly, the Man City boss also shared some information related to Kevin De Bruyne’s fitness, stating, “He trained really well yesterday so we will see what we’re going to do in the next days.”

Real Madrid take on Manchester City in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal on April 9 at the Santiago Bernabeu, with the stadium already sold out for the blockbuster clash.