City boss Guardiola reveals Dias injury blow ahead of Liverpool clash
Pep Guardiola says Ruben Dias will be absent for another “10 days or two weeks” in a blow to Manchester City’s title chances.
Dias sustained the injury in the first half of their 2-0 FA Cup win over Peterborough on March 1, and with Nathan Ake also forced off in that match with a less serious problem, John Stones and Aymeric Laporte were City’s only senior central defenders available for their Manchester derby victory.
Ake returned to the bench for their matches against Sporting Lisbon, Crystal Palace and Southampton before the international break.
Jack Grealish needs to show City his bollocks again
Guardiola will be hoping to have Dias back as soon as possible after Stones picked up a minor injury while away on international duty with England.
Speaking when Dias did his injury, Guardiola said: “It will be four to six weeks. It happens in a season.
“I don’t love it, we need him – a lot. Ruben is massively important for us but he is not there.
“I’m not going to cry. We have just two central defenders – it is what it is.”
That meant there was a possibility he could’ve returned straight after the international break – but Guardiola now seemed to rule Dias out of the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Atletico Madrid and their crucial Premier League clash with Liverpool on April 10.
On the injury news ahead of their match against Burnley on Saturday, Guardiola said: “We have still nine games to play. We will go game by game. We know what we have to do. We have to win games. It will be difficult, but we try. Ruben [Dias] and Cole Palmer are out. The rest are fit. He is out. I don’t know.
“The doctor said for four to six weeks. We need 10 days or two weeks more. The plan depends on the players when I saw them for the training today and yesterday.”
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— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 1, 2022
Meanwhile, Burnley boss Sean Dyche admits it will be a “big challenge” to defeat Premier League leaders Man City at the weekend.
Dyche told a press conference: “It’s a big challenge against Man City and the likes, the super-powers as I call them.
“We’ve beaten these sides in the past, but it’s very difficult. I don’t think our season’s going to be made on this game, but it’s helpful if you can get a result of some kind. We’ll take it on, that’s what you have to do in these games.
“We’ll certainly be focusing on Man City. Our mentality is to set up a team that can win, and then we park that one and move forwards.
“We have to keep fighting, working and playing hard against whoever’s in front of us. The Premier League is very unforgiving. It doesn’t give you a breather, you have to keep being relentless in your thinking. That’s what I spoke to the players about – win or lose, we have to keep being relentless until the final whistle of the season.”
