Akanji, Grealish, Gonzalez - Man City injury news and return dates ahead of Newcastle clash
All of the latest Manchester City injury news ahead of the visit of Newcastle United in the Premier League.
Manchester City return to Premier League action on Saturday as they welcome Newcastle United to the Etihad Stadium.
City secured their progress to the FA Cup fifth round with a 2-1 win over Leyton Orient last Saturday but could not back up that win in the Champions League in midweek.
Despite leading twice, City were beaten 3-2 at home by Real Madrid and are facing an uphill task as they prepare to travel to the Spanish capital on Wednesday.
But before that, attention will turn towards a huge Premier League game as they take on a direct rival for a top four place. City and Newcastle head into the clash in fifth and sixth place respectively and are on the same number of points.
Both sides are two points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea and know a win will not only bolster their hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League but will also damage the prospects of one of their rivals.
But City will have to make do without a couple of key players and they are also sweating on the fitness of another two stars. With that in mind, here is a look at the City injury situation.
Manu Akanji
Injury: Adductor
Akanji pulled up when blocking a Vinicius Jr cross against Real Madrid, and while he limped through to half-time, he did not emerge for the second period in the Champions League.
Guardiola has now confirmed the Swiss defender will be facing at least the next two months out with an adductor injury.
He said: "Surgery on Saturday, 8-10 weeks out. Adductor is broken. 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 thee lack of players in those positions. In the end, the body said enough is enough."
Possible return date: Everton (A) - April 19
Jack Grealish
Injury: Unkown
Grealish went down against Real Madrid just half an hour in and asked to be substituted, looking upset as he headed down the tunnel.
However, Grealish has since offered an update on his Instagram account, writing: "Hopefully the injury isn't too bad," raising hopes that any lay-off is minimal.
Guardiola has confirmed it is not a serious injury but he is a doubt ahead of the visit of the Magpies. He said: "It's not as tough as Manu has done but I don't think he will be ready for tomorrow. We will assess in the next hours."
Possible return date: Newcastle (H) - February 15
Nico Gonzalez
Injury: Unknown
City's January signing was substituted just 22 minutes into his debut in the win over Leyton Orient on Saturday. He was an unused substitute in Tuesday's defeat to Real Madrid and Guardiola has confirmed that was down to the injury he suffered last weekend.
"It wasn't a difficult start, he was just injured," Guardiola said.
"A difficult start is when you played bad but that was not how he played. He had a little pain and still for Madrid he wasn't fully fit. Day by day he's getting better and with Jack we will assess in a few hours."
Possible return date: Newcastle (H) - February 15
Oscar Bobb
Injury: Leg
Bobb was closing in on a return recently after missing the whole season so far with a broken leg. However, he is yet to feature in a matchday squad and his absence in the FA Cup win against Leyton Orient felt telling as that would have been a perfect game for him to return. He was also missing against Real Madrid.
Reports suggest he has suffered a minor setback in his recovery with an ankle issue which could put his return date back.
Possible return date: Unknown
Rodri
Injury: ACL
Rodri still harbours hopes of coming back before the end of the season - something Guardiola says would 'not be intelligent'. City want to give him as much time to recover and are happy to let him sit out the rest of the season to focus on that rehabilitation.
But Rodri has targeted a June return for the Club World Cup as a possible comeback.
Possible return date: Wydad AC (Club World Cup) - June 18