Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Portugal central defender Ruben Dias will be absent for “three or four weeks” due to a muscle injury.
Dias, who was injured in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Manchester United, will miss the entire festive season and maybe the FA Cup third-round meeting with Salford on January 11. The 27-year-old will also have a fitness battle for City’s Champions League match against Paris St-Germain on January 22.
Dias has already missed seven games this season due to a calf injury, joining a defensive injury list that includes John Stones, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, and Kyle Walker, all of whom have been ruled out at various points, while Ballon d’Or winner Rodri will miss the rest of the domestic season after suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury.
“It’s a muscular problem and he will be out for three to four weeks,” Guardiola told ESPN. “After 75 minutes versus United, he experienced something. But he’s really powerful and wanted to continue on the field. Now he’s injured.”
Guardiola revealed Stones, Akanji, and midfielder Mateo Kovacic have all trained this week and could play against Aston Villa on Saturday (12:30 GMT), but goalkeeper Ederson remains “a doubt.”
