Fernandinho was a notable absentee in Manchester City’s 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday and Pep Guardiola has revealed why. The 35-year-old is struggling with a stomach problem and wasn’t deemed fit enough to feature over the weekend.
Prior to the defeat, Guardiola said in his pre-match press conference: “Fernandinho is not fit. He has a bit of gastroenteritis, something in his stomach.” The Brazilian international has been absent for a month with a muscle injury and it’s having an adverse effect on our results.
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Fernandinho has made six appearances in all competitions this season, amassing only 250 minutes of playing time. His last outing for City came in our Champions League win over FC Porto (October 21) and we’re struggling domestically in his absence.
The 35-year-old has now missed our 1-1 draw with West Ham United (October 24), 1-0 win over Sheffield United (October 31), 1-1 draw with Liverpool (November 8) and 2-0 defeat to Tottenham (November 21). Guardiola didn’t disclose when Fernandinho could return, so he might be touch and go ahead of Wednesday’s trip to face Olympiacos.
We have Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias at centre-back while Rodri will likely be called upon in midfield, so we should have a strong enough spine to get a result in the Champions League.
In other news, how’s David Silva getting on at Real Sociedad?