Manchester City suffer midfield injury blow in win over Ipswich

Manchester City suffered an injury blow in Saturday's 2-1 Premier League win over Ipswich Town, with Mateo Kovacic picking up a knock.

The midfielder was replaced in the early stages of the second half following a collision with Liam Delap. The Ipswich striker caught Kovacic with his knee, which resulted in the City star receiving on-field treatment.

After trying to continue, Kovacic quickly dropped to the ground and had to be replaced by John Stones.

Asked about the issue after the game, Guardiola said: “I didn’t speak with the doctors. I think it was a knock.

“Liam Delap, we know from here, is so aggressive with that. We have six, seven days until the next game and we will see if he can recover.”

The injury is a concern for City with Rodri also suffering from a knock. The Spaniard has not yet returned to training following his exploits with Spain this summer, and it was Kovacic who was deputising for Rodri at the base of midfield.

“He’s ok, he had an injury with the national team and he still has some niggles, but I saw him yesterday. It’s just a question of today, whether he rejoins the group for the training sessions,” Guardiola said on Rodri’s situation during his pre-match press conference.

With Rodri and Kovacic both doubts for next week’s game away to West Ham United, Stones is an alternative option as a defensive midfielder, while Ilkay Gundogan, Rico Lewis or Nico O’Reilly could also be deployed in that role.