Pep Guardiola confirms bitter injury blow for Man City star

Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Manuel Akanji will be out for at least two months with a torn adductor suffered during Manchester City's midweek Champions League defeat to holders Real Madrid.

The Premier League champions were in a position of strength heading into the final five minutes of the game, leading 2-1 thanks to Erling Haaland's brace. But another late implosion – something which has dogged City in recent months – saw Madrid turn the tables and leave the Etihad with a goal advantage heading into the second leg.

Not only did City lose the match, they also lost both Akanji and Jack Grealish to injuries in the first half. The latter was substituted midway through the first half, while Swiss international Akanji made it through until the half-time interval.

Speaking ahead of City's important Premier League clash with top-four chasing Newcastle United, Guardiola confirmed the prognosis for Akanji is unfortunately not good.

"Surgery on Saturday, 8-10 weeks out. Adductor is broken," the Spaniard confirmed to reporters. "We wish the best recovery for Manu because the effort he has done this season has been unbelievable.

"Him and Nathan played in difficult conditions and to help the team in emergency condition due to the lack of players in those positions. In the end, the body said enough is enough."

Guardiola stopped short of ruling Grealish out of contention to face Newcastle, but did admit that it's unlikely the 29-year-old will be ready to play. "Not as bad as Akanji," he remarked.

"I don’t know if he will be ready tomorrow, I don't think he will be, but we will assess him in the next hours."

There was also confirmation that Nico Gonzalez will be "assessed in a few hours" by City's medical staff, potentially meaning the January signing will be available after he picked up a knock on his debut against Leyton Orient in the FA Cup.

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