Wow! The Manchester City injury list is miles and miles long right now. There are so many players to cover that we’ll just dive right in, starting with Omar Marmoush.
The striker suffered a knee injury, and had to exit after just nine minutes in Egypt’s World Cup qualifier against Burkina Faso.
Manchester Derby FYIs
Kickoff: Sun, Sept. 14, 4:30pm, Etihad Stadium
Starting XI Predictions: Man United Man City
Team News: Man United Man City
Full Injury Updates: United Part 1 United Part 2 City Part 1 City Part 2
Google Result Probability: Man United Win 21%, Man City Win 56%, Draw 23%
Manchester City Team News
The City club statement reads: “Initial results on a scan performed in Egypt indicate he will not be available for the Manchester derby on Sunday, and he will now return to Manchester for more assessment and to begin his rehabilitation.”
There is no return date set for the Egyptian. The same is true for English international Kalvin Phillips (yes, he’s still actually on the team), who is still building up match fitness while he continues recovering from offseason Achilles surgery. Sticking in the midfield, Mateo Kovacic is also working his way back, and he’s looking at an October timeline for return.
Meanwhile Josko Gvardiuol, Phil Foden, Abdukodir Khusanov, Marcus Bettinelli, John Stones and Savinho could all be in contention to feature in the derby, but this specific half-dozen must all pass late fitness tests in order to make the matchday squad.
Stones left England camp early with a minor muscle issue, so it’s just precautionary while Khusanov is only just dealing with a knock.
Meanwhile Rayan Cherki, with apologies to Wycleaf Jean, is “gone till November” with a hamstring problem.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter