Manchester City Manager Pep Guardiola in tears during pre match press conference yesterday as Key player who’s suppose to be the main man for Chelsea game Sustained a career ending injury in training – another big injury setback for Pep as player set to be out till next year
Pep Guardiola has expressed significant concern about the potential challenges Manchester City might face following a recent injury to John Stones.
This comes after Manchester City’s recent 3-0 Champions League victory over Young Boys, during which Stones was forced to leave the field with a knock. Stones had only returned to action in October after a two-month absence caused by hamstring and hip problems.
Guardiola has voiced his apprehension, suggesting that the 29-year-old defender could be sidelined for an extended period due to the muscular issue, describing it as “deep bad news.” Stones had been playing a pivotal role for City, often occupying a hybrid defense-midfield position, and his contributions were viewed as complementary to the central midfield anchor, Rodri. Guardiola emphasized the importance of Stones by highlighting that his absence was equally significant, alongside Rodri, during a period when Manchester City faced a three-game losing streak earlier in the campaign.
Guardiola elaborated, stating, “The problem is we play John and Rodri at the same time – now we are in trouble because we have to play differently, as happened in our game against Arsenal. We do not feel comfortable with many variations at the moment.”
Despite the setback, Manchester City comfortably secured their place in the last 16 of the Champions League for the 11th consecutive year, defeating the Swiss champions with apparent ease. Erling Haaland, who had been nursing a twisted ankle from the previous weekend, made a notable contribution with a penalty goal and a powerful long-range strike. This solidified City’s dominance and underlined Haaland’s remarkable scoring record, having now scored 39 goals in 34 career Champions League appearances and 15 in all competitions this season.
In a separate incident, Young Boys’ captain, Mohamed Ali Camara, requested to swap shirts with Haaland at halftime, a move that drew criticism from certain quarters.
Young Boys’ coach, Raphaël Wicky, expressed his surprise at the gesture and indicated that he might have a word with Camara about it. Young Boys struggled to create goal-scoring opportunities and faced further challenges when midfielder Sandro Lauper was sent off in the second half.
