Man City’s Ruben Dias Ruled Out for ‘Three or Four Weeks’ Due to Injury

Manchester City’s defender Ruben Dias will be sidelined for three to four weeks following an injury, leaving a gap in their defensive lineup.

Manchester City faces a new injury setback as manager Pep Guardiola has announced that Portuguese central defender Ruben Dias will be sidelined for “three or four weeks” due to a muscle injury.

Dias, who sustained the injury during Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Manchester United, will be absent for the entire festive schedule and may also miss the FA Cup third-round match against Salford on January 11.

The 27-year-old also faces a challenge to be fit for City’s critical Champions League match against Paris St-Germain on January 22.

Dias has already been sidelined for seven games due to a calf injury this season, contributing to the team’s defensive woes. This list of injuries includes absences from John Stones, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, and Kyle Walker at different times. Additionally, Ballon d’Or winner Rodri will be out for the rest of the domestic season after sustaining a cruciate knee ligament injury.

Guardiola stated, “He has a muscular issue and will be sidelined for three to four weeks.”

“After 75 minutes against United, he sensed something was wrong. Despite his strength and determination to continue playing, he’s now injured.”

Guardiola announced that Stones, Akanji, and midfielder Mateo Kovacic have participated in training this week and may play against Aston Villa on Saturday (12:30 GMT). However, he mentioned that goalkeeper Ederson is “a doubt” due to an unspecified issue.

“Ederson has been dealing with some minor issues in his leg and isn’t feeling completely well,” said Guardiola. “He is incredibly important to us.”

During City’s recent stretch of just one win in 11 games, there has been surprise over Guardiola’s decision to play youngsters James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly.

City was determined to retain both players despite receiving several loan offers. However, McAtee has only appeared twice as a substitute, entering the field in the final minute each time, while O’Reilly has yet to make his league debut.

However, it appears they will remain with the club for the second half of the season. When asked if any players might leave during the January transfer window, Guardiola responded, “I don’t think so.”

The Spaniard mentioned that he is “not a big fan” of acquiring players in January. However, given the unique circumstances of this season, it is “possible” that City might consider signing someone.

Guardiola is open about his emotions.

Guardiola’s mood was so low following the defeat to United that it wasn’t hard to envision him questioning his ability to continue in his role.

Afterwards, he gave his players a couple of days off and appeared more cheerful when speaking to journalists during the scheduled briefing before the trip to Villa.

“We had just finished a game that we lost given the circumstances, and I was not pleased,” he said.

I strive to be transparent about my team’s emotions. We’ve experienced setbacks in six Premier League matches without a win, but we must bounce back every time and stand up stronger for the seventh. There is no other option.

“I’m doing alright. I’m just a regular person with emotions like everyone else. When things are going well, we all feel better—it’s natural. I wouldn’t attend the press conference if we were leading 1-0 and pretend to express feelings that aren’t genuine.”

Former Villa forward Jack Grealish hasn’t scored for City in more than a year, but Guardiola noted that he’s not the only attacking player facing challenges this season.

He expressed, “We’re having some difficulty generating opportunities offensively, but I remain optimistic about my players and believe they will turn things around and perform well.”