Ruben Dias sustains major injury blow as centre-back ruled out of Manchester City action for up to one month | OneFootball

Manchester City have succumbed to yet another injury blow in defence as Ruben Dias has now been ruled out for up to a month with a muscular problem.

It is the latest in a long line of problems that have hampered Pep Guardiola and Manchester City’s season to date, playing a significant role in the club falling to 5th in the Premier League and 22nd in the UEFA Champions League.

City find themselves in the midst of an 11-game run of matches where they have only won just one contest in that time, losing eight including calamitous outings against Sporting, Tottenham and Manchester United in particular.

Rodri and Oscar Bobb have been the longest-standing long-term absentees through a double knee injury and leg bone fracture respectively, but reoccurring issues to Nathan Ake, John Stones, and other players throughout the squad have caused greater concerns.

And while Manchester City were this week boosted by the returns of Manuel Akanji and John Stones to first-team training and the possibility of being available for the weekend’s trip to Aston Villa, matters have only been made worse through a new injury.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference from the City Football Academy on Friday afternoon, Pep Guardiola issued a damning update on his defensive injury situation with Ruben Dias the latest to succumb to a problem.

“Ruben (Dias) is out for a long time. Ederson, I don’t know if he will be ready tomorrow,” Pep Guardiola told the media as part of passing conversation on a wider subject. He continued, “And we have to continue, it’s the only thing we have to do.”

Offering further clarification on the matter, the Manchester City manager continued on Ruben Dias, “Three, four weeks he will be out, yeah. Muscular, 75 minutes against (Manchester) United, he felt something.

“But he’s so strong hand he wanted to stay on the pitch and now he’s injured.”

Manchester City travel to Villa Park to take on Unai Emery’s Aston Villa side this weekend, desperate to bring an end to their horrid run of form by claiming a much-needed three points in an attempt to revive their season.

Dias’ absence over the next four weeks means he could miss some mammoth contests for the club across competitions, although the club would be hopeful of a return in time for the UEFA Champions League meeting with Paris Saint-Germain on January 22.