Pep Guardiola reveals John Stones suffered recurrence of a previous injury after being taken off at half time of his return to the Man City team
- Man City suffered their sixth defeat of the Premier League season on Saturday
- John Stones exited the encounter early on after suffering another injury setback
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John Stones lasted just 45 minutes on his return to the Manchester City starting XI after suffering a recurrence of a previous injury.
The defender was included in the side for the first time since the end of last month as the champions suffered a 2-1 defeat by Aston Villa.
Stones, who has been plagued by a raft of issues in the last two seasons, had come in for Ruben Dias, who suffered an injury against Manchester United that is expected to sideline him for four weeks.
Following City’s loss to Unai Emery‘s side – their ninth in 12 matches – Guardiola revealed that the half-time change was enforced after the England international suffered a setback.
The 30-year-old has played 90 minutes in the Premier League just once this season, while he was limited to only 16 appearances last term.
By the time the former Everton star had departed the pitch on Saturday afternoon, his side were already behind, thanks to John Duran’s fifth goal in as many starts.
John Stones was taken off at half-time of Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat by Aston VIlla on Saturday
Pep Guardiola side have been absent of several of their key players, particularly in defensive positions
Stones was replaced by his England team-mate Kyle Walker after the interval but the fortunes of the champions did not fare any better as Morgan Rogers doubled their lead late on.
A rare, and very minimal, ray of sunshine came in the scorer of City’s consolation. Phil Foden found the back of the net in stoppage time to end his goal drought in the top-flight.
The result leave City in sixth place and nine points of leaders Liverpool, having played two games more than Arne Slot’s men.
‘[The end of this run] can come, it might not come,’ Guardiola told the BBC. ‘It depends on us, the opponents and the results. The solution is bring the players back.
‘We have one fit central defender and that makes things more difficult. We’re going to try in our next game. It’s another opportunity – don’t think much further than that, recover well and try to do it.’
