Manchester City are facing a concerning potential injury crisis ahead of facing Arsenal on Sunday.
Manchester City are enjoying another fantastic season and could still win an unprecedented back-to-back treble.
But to do so will be incredibly difficult, with the Premier League title race being especially difficult as Pep Guardiola’s side battle it out with Liverpool and Arsenal.
City trail the two teams by a single point but have the opportunity to overtake the Gunners on Sunday when they meet in a massive top-of-the-table clash.
The Blues have already lost to Arsenal once this season and will be sweating over the fitness of five players ahead of the match.
Man City have five injury concerns ahead of facing Arsenal
It looked as though the international break would be a welcome reprieve from the intense battle on three different fronts for City.
16 members of the squad have jetted off to join their countries, with Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson and Jack Grealish the only regular internationals to remain in Manchester.
The trio had their own injury issues before the break, though Grealish had at least recovered to be named on the bench for the FA Cup win over Newcastle United.
De Bruyne and Ederson missed the match and haven’t played since the draw with Liverpool. It is hoped they will be fit for Sunday but it’s not yet clear if they will.
To add to that, three more players have picked up knocks while away on international duty.
Kyle Walker was taken off just 20 minutes into England’s defeat to Brazil after feeling tightness and won’t play against Belgium.
Matheus Nunes missed Portugal training on Sunday after scoring for his nation last week and now Manuel Akanji has been left out of the Switzerland squad for Tuesday’s match with the Republic of Ireland due to injury.
It’s not yet clear how serious the injuries are and if they will miss Sunday’s visit of Arsenal but it’s far from ideal preparation for such a massive match.
Pep Guardiola’s strongest available XI
Should all five players be unavailable, Guardiola will be at a huge disadvantage when he faces his old protege Mikel Arteta.
There will have to be serious adjustments to the backline if two of his first-choice defenders are out.
With no Walker or Akanji, John Stones would likely be tasked to play right-back with Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake partnering in the middle. Leaving Josko Gvardiol to continue on the left.
If De Bruyne is unfit, Guardiola will be torn between selecting either Phil Foden or Julian Alvarez in a central position alongside Rodri and potentially Mateo Kovacic.
Foden would certainly be the stronger option at the moment, but that would also depend on if Grealish can start on the left.
At least Bernardo Silva, along with Dias, has already been sent home from international duty so he should be able to play on the right.
Finally, Erling Haaland has a match with Slovakia on Tuesday to get through to ensure he is fit to start up front.
Strongest current starting XI to face Arsenal: Ortega; Stones, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Rodri; Bernardo, Kovacic, Foden, Grealish; Haaland.