John Stones has been hit with yet another injury scare following the March international break. (Image: Getty)
Manchester City ace John Stones is now ‘worried’ that he’ll be missing for this weekend’s crunch Premier League clash against Arsenal. The England international hobbled off the Wembley pitch on Tuesday night, as Pep Guardiola’s injury list ahead of Sunday’s match continues to grow.
The clock hadn’t even reached the 10-minute mark by the time Stones had indicated his intention to be subbed off during England’s 2-2 draw with Belgium. A devastating blow for Stones, whose season has been disrupted by several injury problems throughout, and now, it looks as if he could be absent for City’s biggest Premier League game of the season so far against Arsenal.
According to a report by The Daily Star, Stones has returned to Manchester to undergo scans on his groin and is ‘worried’ that he won’t be fit in time to play against the Gunners – a game which could make or break City’s title defence. Mikel Arteta’s men enter the weekend’s action top of the table and a victory for Arsenal in East Manchester could kill City’s hopes of securing a fourth consecutive Premier League title.
John Stones hobbled out of England’s friendly with Belgium on Tuesday night. (Image: Getty)
When asked after the Belgium stalemate, Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate admitted he was unsure how serious the injury problem for Stones was. He said: “No [it wasn’t a risk to play him]. The first game [against Brazil] for him wasn’t a game that was a high level in terms of intensity… But of course, we’re disappointed if he’s got a problem. It’s in the adductor area. He came in on the back of not having played for two weeks so it wasn’t an overload issue. But I hate sending players back to their clubs if they’re not fully fit.”
The Stones situation is yet another injury problem for Guardiola to contend with after numerous first-team players picked up knocks while away on international duty. Matheus Nunes was missing for Portugal’s friendly against Slovenia because of a foot problem, while Manuel Akanji pulled out of the Switzerland squad because of a fitness concern, with Kyle Walker having also gone home from England duty early.
Pep Guardiola has been left sweating over a number of players’ fitness ahead of the Arsenal match (Image: Getty)
It isn’t all bad news for Guardiola though, with both Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish expected to be available for the Blues. De Bruyne withdrew from Belgium’s squad for the recent March internationals after manager Domenico Tedesco confirmed he was suffering from a minor groin problem, but the 32-year-old has since been training regularly in Manchester.
Whereas Grealish, who like Stones has seen his campaign stunted by problems, is also believed to be back in contention for a starting spot. The former Aston Villa captain hasn’t been involved for City since their FA Cup fifth-round victory over Luton Town in February.
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1882324/Man-City-injury-news-John-Stones-Arsenal