Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne will miss Manchester City’s forthcoming schedule, which spans three competitions.
Walker missed the thrilling victory against Wolves on the weekend, and De Bruyne has been sidelined since being substituted out at halftime in City’s Champions League draw with Inter Milan in September.
Guardiola acknowledged that both players were still “some time away” before Wednesday night’s City game against Sparta Prague at the Etihad Stadium.
The manager stated, “He doesn’t feel fine, but it’s not a big issue.” “Kevin needs to be fit for football because he is no longer 22 years old. He has to be in perfect physical condition since he feels uncomfortable and cannot fully utilise his amazing potential. He’s training a little bit better as a result, but he told me, “I still don’t feel good.” Don’t you feel good? Take your time.
Walker is not playing in the Champions League match and returned from international duty with a knee injury, Guardiola disclosed. He responded, “I cannot tell you, I don’t know,” when asked when they will resume operations.
Guardiola’s team has picked up four points from two games without giving up a goal, and City is hoping to continue on their strong start to the new Champions League format. After defeating Salzburg and drawing with Stuttgart, Sparta Prague, now ranked second in the Czech top flight, has four points from their first two games.
Before the international break next month, City has a packed schedule that includes matches against Southampton, Bournemouth, and Brighton in the league, a Carabao Cup meeting at Tottenham, and a Champions League trip to Sporting.
Guardiola acknowledged that City is disadvantaged by the injuries to important players, but he also claimed that their opponents are similarly affected.
“With Kevin, Kyle, Rodri, and Oscar [Bobb] absent, we have four significant absences. I hope two of them can return [soon]. Oscar might be ready around January or February, in my opinion. Rodri the season.
“We need them, but the issues facing all three competitive clubs in Europe are pretty much the same.”