Man City injuries: Pep Guardiola gives update on John Stones & Mateo Kovacic recoveries

Pep Guardiola has revealed John Stones may not feature in the Manchester City team for another few weeks, despite being named in Saturday’s squad against Liverpool.

The defender picked up a hip injury in August that prevented him featuring in the opening seven league matches of the term, and after returning from the issue, suffered a recurrence of the problem in a Champions League victory over Young Boys, which Guardiola claimed at the time would keep him out ‘for a while’. 

Stones missed the trip to Chelsea a few days later and was ruled out of the England squad over the recent international break as a result, but was a surprise inclusion for City in Saturday’s draw at the Etihad.

The defender didn’t come off the bench against Liverpool and, after having an injury-plagued beginning to 2023/24, Guardiola said he does not want to rush the ex-Everton man back into the team.

“He feels good but I want to give him one week or two weeks to do proper strength training sessions,” Guardiola said after Saturday’s match. “He’s so important for us but maybe his muscles are not completely ready.

"He’s going to train with us, partially or completely, and the rest he’s going to do proper strength sessions in his legs to make sure he feels stronger. We need him for a lot of games."

City have picked up several injuries in recent weeks, with Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes missing Saturday’s game, while Jack Grealish was ruled out through illness. Asked for an injury update ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash against RB Leipzig, Guarduiola said: “John [will be] a little bit longer, Mateo is not a big issue but still he is out a little bit.

“We have two goalkeepers on the bench [against Liverpool] but it’s fine. Rico [Lewis] is ready and can play in five positions,” he added. “We are going to use him on Tuesday, I'm pretty sure. I have no complaints. Everyone is really pleased.”