Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he is willing to rely on emerging talent from the club’s academy at a time when his team has been hit by a slew of injuries.
City suffered fresh health issues in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in London, with Sabinho collapsing in tears after defender Manuel Akanji limped off in the pre-match warm-up.
Ballon d’Or winner Rodri is already out for the season due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered in the home draw with Arsenal on September 22, while Kevin De Bruyne was ruled out for the Champions League match against Inter Milan on September 22. I haven’t been able to compete since. 18.
Jack Grealish, Kyle Walker, Jérémy Doku and Oscar Bobb were already on the injured list and Guardiola said Rúben Dias was suffering problems. Guardiola said after Wednesday’s game that De Bruyne, Grealish and Walker would not return until the end of the next international break.
Asked about the team’s possibility of traveling to Bournemouth at a press conference on Friday, Guardiola said: “We’ll see tomorrow (who is available). There are a lot of doubts.”
“This is happening at a lot of clubs and we are not the only club in the world going through this. There are (a lot of injuries) in certain departments and positions, but it is what it is.”
Asked about the usefulness of the club’s youth squad in times of serious injuries, Guardiola said: “We use them (academy players) because we are in an emergency situation in certain positions. But some of them, like in the past, we can’t use them. “I trust you,” he said. Luck has arrived.
“They help us. That’s why the academy exists. Sometimes there is no other choice.”
Guardiola added that Sabinho’s injury from Spurs’ defeat was not as serious as initially feared. Brazil international Sabinho did not suffer a fractured ankle in the incident.
The Catalan manager will not be concerned about whether he will be able to make a move in the January transfer window due to his growing list of absentees.
“Probably in January, all the players except Rodri will return,” Guardiola said. “The squad is good enough when we are all together, fully focused and healthy. For now we just have to try to get the players back as quickly as possible and we will see.”
City visit Bournemouth on Saturday before traveling to Lisbon on Tuesday to face new Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim’s Sporting CP.
Amorim is set to remain at Sporting until the international break, with his term at Guardiola’s rivals officially starting on November 11.
