Manchester City have been dealt another injury setback as defender Ruben Dias is expected to be sidelined for up to four weeks going into their Saturday midday clash with Aston Villa this weekend.
Manager Pep Guardiola disclosed that the Portugal star picked up a muscle injury during the final moments of the recent derby loss to Manchester United.
Speaking at a press conference, Guardiola shared: "Three or four weeks. Muscular. After 75 minutes against United he felt something."
He added: "He’s strong and wanted to stay on the pitch, but now he’s injured. Ruben is out for a long time and Ederson I don’t know if he will be ready tomorrow."
But while Nathan Ake remains unavailable, there was better news for Guardiola with Manuel Akanji and John Stones both now back in full training.
The Swiss international was forced off at half-time of the victory over Nottingham Forest earlier this month while Stones hasn’t been on the pitch since the November defeat to Spurs.
"Manuel and John are back in training," he said. "That is good for us. As many players that are back the better.
"I don't know yet [if they can start against Aston Villa]. Yesterday was their first training session, I would say, properly. They have been out for a while."
