Manchester City will be without defender Ruben Dias for three to four weeks with a muscle injury, manager Pep Guardiola said yesterday, another blow for the reeling champions whose hopes of hanging on to the Premier League title are dwindling.
City travel to Aston Villa today hoping to right the ship amid the worst run of results in Guardiola’s managerial career that has them languishing fifth in the league table. They also have just one victory to show for their last 11 games across all competitions.
Dias was injured in City’s calamitous 2-1 derby loss to Manchester United on Sunday.
“It was a muscular injury, (after) 75 minutes against Manchester United he felt something. He is so strong and he stayed on the pitch and now he is injured,” Guardiola told reporters yesterday.
Fellow defender Manuel Akanji, however, returned to training this week after suffering an injury early this month, “which is good for us,” Guardiola said.
City lost to United in spectacular fashion last weekend, leading in the 88th minute before their cross-town rivals scored two goals in less than two minutes.
Guardiola looked disconsolate after, and pointed the finger squarely at himself for the shocking run, telling reporters during a long and heartfelt post-game press conference that “I am not good enough.”
His mood had improved by yesterday.
“I just finished a game where we were close to winning and we lost. For the sequences that happened I was not happy,” Guardiola said. “I tried to be honest with myself here right now in six or seven days ago, (but) if you fall down six times you have to stand up seven.
“I am fine. I am a normal person with feelings like all of us. When a situation is going well we are better and when it is not going well professionally we are more (focused) on what we have to do.”
Just two points and two places behind Guardiola’s team in the league table, Aston Villa will climb over City with a victory today at Villa Park.
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