Manchester City are again likely to be missing a number of key players as they host West Ham on Saturday. The fallen champions have been hampered by a lengthy injury list throughout the campaign and none of their current absentees are expected to return this weekend.
That includes defenders Ruben Dias and John Stones, as well as goalkeeper Ederson. Portugal international Dias has missed the last three games with a muscular problem while England centre-back Stones is still troubled by a foot issue and Brazil’s Ederson has a leg problem.
Manager Pep Guardiola said: “It’s quite a similar (squad) to how we were at Leicester.”. Speaking at a press conference, Guardiola added that Dias was “getting better but he’s not ready for tomorrow” while he reported Ederson had “trained better without a disturbance”.
Midfield linchpin Rodri said in an interview this week that he hopes to return before the end of the season. The Ballon d’Or winner was initially ruled out for the remainder of the campaign after suffering a serious knee injury in September. That remains the official prognosis but Guardiola is encouraged by the 28-year-old’s optimism.
The City boss said: “The important thing is to recover well. (Before) the end of the season will be good, but the target is to recover well to be ready at the end of the season.”. City lifted some of the gloom that has descended on the club recently with victory in their Premier League game at Leicester last Sunday.
