Manchester City, as a squad, is getting healthier as the visit to Ipswich Town approaches on Sunday. John Stones will not quite be ready yet, but he is getting much closer now.
“I spoke with him, [and] he said he feels better,” manager Pep Guardiola said of Stones and his foot injury. “But in the past, always he felt better and just can play 40-45 minutes.
“So, that’s why maybe we have to take a little longer to be sure that when he comes back, he cannot make a step back.”
That is a good point- Stones has had plenty of set backs already, and does not need another one. But we expect that the English defender will likely feature before the end of the month.
Oscar Bobb will make his come back about a week or so behind him. Bobb is already in partial training, so we’ll likely see the forward/attacking midfielder back on the pitch in early February.
As for Ruben Dias, no one seems to really know what’s going on with his lower extremity injury. Also, congratulations to both Manchester City, and Erling Haaland, on the official announcement earlier today.
The Norwegian signed a 10-year contract that will keep him at the club until 2034.
Otherwise, you are now up to speed on all the latest Man City team news, so let’s take a look at lineup prediction.
Stefan Ortega; Rico Lewis, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake, Josko Gvardiol; Mateo Kovacic; Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva; Kevin De Bruyne, Savinho; Erling Haaland
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, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. 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.